Humulus XPA (2009)
The Bruery

Clearing out some old reviews on a Easter morning.

Looks yellow, thin white head 1/3". Good clarity. Aroma dropped a complex medley of pine, citrus, grapefruit, green dank vegetal hop aroma. So good. Medicinal in a provider kind of way. Taste was a very light pale malt body over waves of green hops. Lots of late stage hops.

They really should have this on all summer long. Excellent, 1st tier session ipa level stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the Bruery for hooking this up, went over to the brewery at the direction of the Provisions shop on a day they were closed. 2 growlers hooked up nonetheless.

Yellow pour, thin head out of the growler. But then, smack, the most luscious hop aromas ever, complete with pine, light citrus and vegetative hops, this is the chronic and smells like it quite a bit too. Taste, so light, so hoppy, bitterness is in check here, no excruciating hop boil for hours, straight up massive dry hopping in this bad boy. Went great with a day of frisbee golf, got my game back on track.

This one ain't complex, its light bodied, highly hopped, relatively low bitterness. I wish I could get this all the time. Perfect for hopheads who like to get off the couch and do stuff.

Had this at the Cigar City/ Bruery Takeover! at Redlight Redlight in Orlando.

A-golden with an orange tint. nice white head that stays with some lacing.

S-wow what a powerful punch of grapefruit! so fresh and citrusy! i love it!

T-wow its with such a fresh taste of hops and grapefruit. now i normally hate grapefruit but this taste is so good. its not acidic or bitter or anything. its very light tasting at the same time. it ends with a decent lasting matching after-taste. this is the best APA i've had yet.

M-medium and creamy carbonation with a crisp finish.

D-well this is such an interesting APA, it border lines the punch of an IPA. i could have quite a lot of them. In fact, i'm writing this review a day later from notes, and I've been craving for another one ever since. The Bruery NEEDS to bottle this!

Growler thanks to StarRaptor. Poured into my CCB tulip.

A: Dark, straw yellow color. The pour dropped a huge 4 finger head that left gigantic lace.

A: Pale malt, grapefruit, and grass. Notes of citrus fruit, and sweet malt. Pretty nice balance in the nose.

T: Much of the same balance one would expect from an APA. Maybe a touch light, but with only 4.3% ABV, I guess that to be expected. Same notes of citrus and grass from the hops, with a sweet malt backbone. Finishes dry and somewhat bitter.

M: Thin body. Very high carbonation makes this a little tingely on the palate.

O: Pretty solid. I just had HF Edward about a week ago, and compared to that, this really dosen't live up. Still very good, but the overcarbonation and the extremely light mouthfeel will bring this down some. However, at 4.3% this is a crushable brew, and I will have no problem finishing off the 64 oz. Skal.

Poured from a Bruery growler into multiple pint glasses. Special thanks to errantnight for this from our latest trade! Thanks to Joe, Wil, and Matt for the assist!

A: This growler traveled very well. Probably a week old by the time we opened it and the stopper exploded off the top of the growler! Good thing those stoppers are held onto the growler otherwise someone could've lost an eye ;) Hazy straw-gold with a towering and airy bright white head on top. Foam is very sticky and leaves some messy lace in the glass.

S: Nice mix of mild citrus and grassy hops. Some freshly shaved grapefruit zest, as well.

T: A light and toasty malt backbone sets the stage for the aforementioned hoppiness.

M: Light on the tongue, but I didn't feel that it was thin or watery.

D: Pretty crushable. An all day sessionable APA!

Thanks Dave for sharing this one!
Review from written notes.

Pours a pale light yellow gold. Soapy foam, an irregular head forms and rises above the rim of the pint glass. Arcs of lace form as the glass is sipped.

Fresh floral hop aroma, lightly sweet grapefruit and citrus zest. Green herbals, light grassiness.

Pale malt, medium bitterness and some lightly sweet citrus flavors. Absolutely no Brett at all (2011 batch). Very light bodied, light carbonation, delicate. Easily sessionable at around 4ish% abv.

Poured from the growler into a tulip pint glass.
According to the menu sign at the tasting room, no Brettanomyces was added this year. Advertised as 4.7% abv.

A: Slightly hazy, medium orangish-gold color with over one finger of lofty, cottony white foam that diminishes to a persistent iceberg covering over half of the surface. Heavy lacing, showing obvious relief in places, remains on the glass.
A few bubbles rise lazily in the column.

S: Pungent with tropical fruit (guava and passion fruit) and herbaceous qualities. Bright acidity accentuates the hop influences, while malt is barely present with just trace amounts of toastiness.

T: Begins dry, with bright acidity and hop aromatics that feature prominent grapefruit peel as well as some pine foliage. Pilsner and pale malt, yeasty but thin, are occasionally detected in the middle, which is characterized more by herbaceous green plant stems and some butter. Bitterness is present, but restrained, in the finish with a mineral edge that seems to become even more dry and clean.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, wet on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D: This beer is the fraternal twin of The Bruery's Humulus Session. Surprisingly, this is the less balanced of the two, seeming over-attenuated from start to finish. The previous version of this beer did feature Brettanomyces in the fermentation, but that has changed with the 2011 batch. A defiantly American pale ale seemed like an odd choice in which to introduce Brett, and this current incarnation reflects a less experimental recipe. This liquid product now serves only as a medium for hop aromatics, which it delivers ably.