Green Giant
East End Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

16 fl oz can:

Floral, slightly resinous, and a bit citrusy/acidic.

C / AVERAGE

***
12/06/20:

16 fl oz pull-tab with a green label. Nabbed for me by my friend Zed directly at the brewery in 4-pack format.

"India Pale Ale." 7.2% ABV. "All Citra IPA."

Served cold into a shaker.

A: Filtered copper body colour. Off-white head.

Sm: Floral hops and pale malt/2-row is all I get through my hyposmia.

T: Floral hops. Pale malts. Muted citrus. Not a terrific beer in terms of showcasing Citra hops, nor is it a great tasting IPA to be honest. A simple shallow brew that just falls short on every level.

O: It's fine. Drinkable but not dazzling. I'd sooner buy Sierra Nevada Torpedo or Celebration or any Deschutes IPA or Lagunitas' IPA or really any decent widely distributed six pack format IPA (all of which are far cheaper than this). Not a great Citra hop IPA, not a great IPA, not a good beer. But sure it's fine and try it once.

High C- / BELOW AVERAGE

***
12/08/20:

Heavy on Caramalt or Crystal malt (or maybe both) judging by the unwelcome increased sweetness midbody and into the finish. A biteen biscuity, which doesn't suit it.

Dry, unrefreshing, coarse. Medium-bodied.

Hop profile underwhelms with tepid citrus flavour that isn't really evocative of any specific vivid fruit...not orange peel-emphatic, grapefruity, blood orange bitter, or really anything beyond a bit soapy, a bit floral, and a bit vaguely citrusy. Citra hops were not put to good use here, and that's a damned shame as I count it amongst my favourite varietals. I don't expect this to rival Kern River's Citra, Three Floyds' Zombie Dust - or even something hyped like Other Half's oft-overrated Citra-hopped IPAs - but with Pseudo Sue from Toppling Goliath increasing in distribution footprint and myriad IPAs hopped with the seemingly magical combination of Mosaic and Citra hops emerging in every market across the country, one would hope for a beer that better showcases Citra hops in order to compete.

I wouldn't knowingly buy this again, but it's drinkable and it's fine.

C / AVERAGE

 

Appearance: Arrives clear and burnt orange colored with a two finger head that leaves copious lacing

Smell: Resinous and piney with a load of caramel to balance

Taste: Resinous and piney from the get go, the caramel brings balance to the front end; bitterness increasing from the mid-palate to the finish with the caramel supporting

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A good example of an older style IPA when bitterness and balance where key elements

$ 3.00 (Including tax)/16 oz can ($ 0.188/oz) from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. Reviewed 2/26/19.
“CANNED ON 10/24/18” stamped on bottom edge of the can. In reefer at distributor. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
Body – Orange, hazy. When held to the light, it becomes translucent.
Head – Large (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, medium density, average retention, diminishing to an irregular five to eleven mm ring with pieces of lacing dragging behind.
Lacing – Fair – an irregular band of tiny to small bubbles remaining connected to the ring.
First pour – Yellow, hazy.
Aroma – 3.5 – Grapefruit and malt.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins with a light, refreshing, hint of lime which immediately shifts to a very artificial-tasting token of grapefruit bitterness and flavor. This is supplemented by some malt. No alcohol (7.2% ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 – Medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 3.5 – You can’t go too far wrong with some malt appearing in your IPA. After four months in the can, the citra-ness is just a ghost of its former self. Still, not a bad IPA.

 

It is a rather sweet IPA that i liked better the first time I had it but liked less and less the more I had

 

Two night trip with Leah. Dahn on the strip at their tasting room. The description states that it's like smelling a freshly mowed lawn of hops! Very nice!

 

7/24/18 - On tap at the teet. Poured into a logo snifter glass. Earthy aroma with slight white head. Smooth crushable IPA. Not too hoppy, so come get some.