Mosaic SMaSH
(512) Brewing Company

RB transfer

 

12oz bottled 5-5-21, opened 9-21-21.
4 months in the bottle, has held very up well...rating only, will review upon fresher sample.
Wonderful head and retention, noticed across the board from 512 beers.

 

 

 

Poured from bottle into tulip, good 2+ cream colored head, good retention and great lacing. Bright golden in the glass, slight chill haze. Smells of mosaic...muted tropical fruit and some stone fruit. Taste is initially sweet malt followed by tropical fruit, muted pineapple, lemon and trails off to a mild bitter somewhat dry finish. Prickly carbonation keeps the palate awake. Very little residual taste left on the palate. Easy drinking keeps you going back for more. Glad to see they are dropping this in Houston in bottles now, grabbed a single, but heading back for a 6 pack.

A: Pours with a beautiful clarity, maybe a bit surprising in that regard. A golden/yellow color. A dense white head rises to two fingers with excellent retention and rings of lace left behind.
S: A very aromatic nose. Berries, tropical fruits, peaches. Neutral malts, but the hops are very vibrant, fresh, spot on for the type of hops and I love it.
T: Up front follows the nose with that mix berry and tropical fruit flavor. A touch more malts. Pale, cracker like, with a touch of honey and sweetness. Finishes dry and a lingering bitterness. The bitterness actually over powers the fruitiness up front after a while.
M/O: A medium body and moderate carbonation. This finishes smooth and dry. Really easy to drink and come back to. Downed in big gulps and really enjoyable overall.

Yeah, this is a good one. Maybe my favorite of these Mosaic Single Hopped beers around Texas. Glad I can find bottles of this around now, definitely on par with Yellow Rose, and well done all around.

bottle dated 12/28/20

pours a slightly hazy gold body with a billowing white fluffy froth foam head with moderate retention that leaves a moderately high amount of sticky sudsy lacing as it slowly settles to a thin ring surrounding a murky cap

aroma tropical hop, by way of mango and papaya. sticky sweet and floral with a low grade bitterness. lemon and honey malt in the back. the malt is light, thin, but enough to round out the rest of the brew.

taste follows the nose. lemon a little more present though. a little herbal towards the finish, when the bitterness starts to kick in.

mouthfeel is moderately high carbonation, lighter side of medium body. generally smooth brew with a near-herbal bitterness towards the end and a clean dry finish

overall:
while certainly not an all-encompassing look into the mosaic hop's capabilities and flavor profiles, this was still a treat for this mosaic fan. the lemon was an interesting spot to lean in, and could have been amplified by the lighter honeyed malt I suppose. the tropical elements were not full blast and there were no darker tones to the brew to speak of, but it wasn't simple either. it entertained both floral and herbal shades, stretched the lemon-legs, and maintained a light-hearted tropical theme in the background. the back end of the brew was probably the biggest highlight for me, dipping into a more herbal and bitter shade after having it teased out on the dl.
nice entry from one of the hometown heroes

*lastly, I don't think it coincidence that the lower ratings happen to lack reviews. this one deserves better.

 

 

 

i thought this was really nice, surprising that it doesnt have better ratings here, sure its simple beer, but the mosaic profile is fresh and nice and the beer is balanced and well made, im not sure where the criticism comes in. its clear and golden from the tap, honey colored and shiny, with a tall white head, ring lace, and slow rising bubbles. it smells like pure mosaic to me, a little of the cat pee thing, but also fresh pineapple, lemon, lemongrass, meyer lemon, and dried grass, botanical and fruity, delicious in flavor too, as compelling as it is in the nose, and much more complete to me than these single hop beers usually are, a better take on mosaic here, like there is some nice bitterness at the end and the hops linger long, start earlier, and just seem amazing to me, its not just in the center and its not dumbed down to me. the malt is basic, a honey malt type, a little sweet and with enough body to hold up all the hops, but not making this heavy at all, even unique for how simple it is and for how familiar all the ingredients are. maybe a little light on the carbonation, but this is an excellent pint of hoppy beer. deserves higher ratings than it has here for sure!

 

 

 

On-draught @ the brewery.

Showcases the tropical character of Mosaic well but eschews its superior subtle blueberry note. Pale malts balance out any hop bitterness. Mango, dried guava, papaya, floral hop flavour.

Nice depth of flavour.

Mouthfeel is refreshing. Smooth, wet, well-carbonated.

Drinkable and enjoyable, though its hop pungency could be improved. I'd definitely take this over Community's Mosaic IPA in terms of the local market, but if you're brewing a Mosaic hopped IPA in Texas you'll always be in the shadow of Lone Pint's Yellow Rose, and this doesn't quite measure up. Definitely worth trying, and a beer I'd revisit if offered in sixers at a fair price.

B- / WORTHY

***
On-draught at Hole In The Wall, Austin, TX:

Doesn't showcase Mosaic as well as I remembered..I suspect this beer declines with age.

Low B- / WORTHY

***
02/09/19 on-draught @ the brewery:

Blueberry. Tropical fruit.

Surprisingly effective for a single malt and single hop beer, but it still lacks the variety of hop flavour I'd expect in a great IPA.

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE

***
04/22/22 12 fl oz brown glass bottle from Junior's in Austin:

C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE