Joop - Grapefruit
Spring House Brewing Company

 

Thanks to bellsfounder for sending this one as an extra in our trade! Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 16 oz. can into a Cigar City Brewing goblet.

A: Pours a hazy gold with fairly low visible carbonation. Forms a thin white head that recedes quickly.

S: Citrus and tropical fruit hops up front, with light biscuit malts and a bit yeasty. A nice aroma, though this isn't a "smell-while-pouring" kind of beer.

T: Tropical fruits, bitter lemon rind and grapefruit pith. Biscuit malts and yeast trub. Some melon comes up near the end, and finishes with more tropical fruits and dankness. There's also a tinny, alpha-forward bitterness in the hang that detracts.

M: Medium-bodied for style. Low alcohol presence and good carbonation sensation.

O: A tasty enough beer, but not in the category of some of the other IPAs that the Northeast has been putting out. The metallic alpha bitterness takes away from the dank and fruity flavors that would otherwise be dominant. Still, a good beer.

 

I CAN't remember who came across with one of these for The CANQuest (tm), but I will take credit for the approved pic. My thanks for the hook-up, whoever you may be.

I Crack!ed open yet another 16-fl. oz. CAN without any untoward results. I peered into the vent, but even with nothing happening, I could not pull the trigger on anything more than a gentle Glug. An in-glass swirl not only raised a brief finger of foamy, tawny head, but it also caused the room to smell like I had been spraying grapefruit juice with an atomizer. Wow! Color was a slightly hazy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7), and although it may have been due to the interior temperature of my reefer, The Gelt Gang of Croesus, Midas & Mammon called to say that they would take a pass, preferring 24-karat clarity. Meh. Their loss. The nose was definitely the sum of its parts! You would have to be dead not to get the grapefruit, but the Lemondrop hops were also right there as was the cattiness of Simcoe. My hophead mouth began to drool as though a valve had been opened. Nomnomnom. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was utterly, absolutely bitter, but in the best way possible! The lemon & grapefruit were enough on their own, but the cattiness cut right through like a flaming arrow on its way to the bulls-eye. This was an AIPA for hopheads only, no weak links need apply. The haze began to clear as it warmed, but the intensity of the hops increased in a sort of inverse equation. Phew! Malt? Who needs malt when we have hops?!? This touched the apex of what CAN be tolerated in this regard. I have had some AIPAs like this that had a granular mouthfeel because the dry-hopping process was over the top. This evinced some restraint, but not much. Sam Calagione used to refer to "Randall, the Enamel Animal" due to its ability to strip enamel from one's teeth. This beer was having that effect, as well as filling my sinus cavity and searing my esophagus. I kid you not, this should have had a skull & crossbones inCANporated on its label. Finish was dry, gaspingly dry, causing me to reach for my asthma inhaler. Think of the driest martini that you have drank & then multiply that geometrically, not mathematically. Phew. I may need to lie down after this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Joop IPA brewed w/ wheat, oats and grapefruit purée. Dry hopped w/ citra, simcoe and lemondrop hops.