King Puck
Mick Duff's Brewing Company

my first beer from these guys in awhile, nice and fresh but a little but lackluster to me, malty and sort of fuel-like, sweet and nutty, bitter too, it hits in spots but seems a little disjointed and kind of weird, maybe stressed in the ferment too, interesting for sure, but i didnt love this and frankly expected a little bit more from it. it looks normal, brassy and slightly rich, average white head on top from a freshly filled crowler, decent clarity and overall apparent refinement. the nose is lightly metallic, oily and dank too though, west coasty, an almost scorched thing, some pine and grapefruit, english for a second in some way, curious but not unappealing. the flavor comes apart a little for me, bitter early, metallic and almost cheap later on, the hops are intense on the palate texturally, but without a ton of flavor, almost belgian estery even phenolic at a point, the bitterness is welcome with all this malt, but the recipe and the execution both raise a few questions. i get light green pepper, citrus pith, and almost copper minerality, heavier feeling then than it looks. bready, bitter, slick, i dont know, its not bad, and its not generic at all, its distinctive, but something is off for me, just cant exactly place it. less good than these guys are when at their best, thats for sure. seems like an uncomplicated ipa was the goal, so where this went wrong is a mystery. had way higher hopes given how excited their people seemed to be about it...