The Benwood
Cigar City Brewing

RB transfer

 

 

This IPA packs a punch of hops both in aroma and taste - not a beer for every occasion, but a pretty good one none the less.

Appears hazy orangish with a fairly creamy head and decent lacing. Body appears full.
Nose is a nicely sweet/ corn-like malt aroma.
Flavor is orange-guava centric, with the latter being at the forefront. Tea-like malt backbone. Just tasty stuff at that.
Feels medium-full bodied/ very smooth and with a zesty carbonated feel to it. Citrus finishes with it.
Haven’t been TOO into hazy IPAs ever since it seems every brewery had to try at it, but this stands very well on its own and apart from the rest.

 

 

 

 

Hazy, but in a muddled sort of way. Nice aroma, with what I’m guessing is guava and some candied orange. Pineapple juice. A sweetness on the finish. It’s a fun drinker, and it grows on you.

This and king Sue have made me an IPA drinker, recommended.

 

I feel guilty for having taken the night off, but I would STILL be four (4) hours from go-home time if I were at work! They got their $s worth & much more on Thursday night/Friday morning & even though Friday was my scheduled day off, I was still so spent from that evening that I could not feature going in for potentially more "abuse". My body is double-nickels on the clock, but the Navy years were (at least) two-fer-one, putting my odometer at 70+! I simply do not have the bounce-back that I once did. I am using this "free time" to pluck random CANs outta the backlog in the furtherance of The CANQuest (tm) in the hopes of adding some value to a worthless evening. 8=(

From the CAN: "The Benwood Hazy Double India Pale Ale"; "Explore the deep complexity of flavor imparted by Motueka, Galaxy, Strata, and Mosaic hops in The Benwood, our double dry-hopped tribute to tropical aromas, citrus flavors, and Florida's most famous shipwreck."

I applaud whoever built this entry for the Notes. If I had my druthers, the name would have included ALL of its style verbiage, but I lost that battle some time ago, hence my inCANsion of how I would have listed the beer, had I been afforded the opportunity. Ah well. It was just one more insCANce pushing me closer to the exit.

My last review on this site (& probably anywhere) will be on 31 December 2020 with only pics, updates & adds as my further CANtribution to this site. It's been a good run, but in the early going, the ONLY way to keep track of one's beers was to write a review. The advent of Untappd ChANged that, rendering this site ... not obsolete, but less attractive than it was when I beCAN. CANversely, my Untappd check-ins do NOT include a rating as I CANnot write a 140-word review to justify the score, let alone one of 140-characters! Each site serves a purpose for me, but reviews no longer hold a sense of purpose, hence my closing of that particular valve. Onward!

I Crack!ed open the vent while mesmerized by the graphics that included a diver's mask, a sinking ship & the deep blue of the water. As a retired USN sailor, I have a LOT of seawater in my past & I frankly long to return to the underway life as I grow increasingly long in the tooth. Sigh. I was met by a light spritz thanks to its being a brimful craft CAN & I proceeded with a slow, steady C-Line Glug in the hopes of bring a modicum of clarity to this review. My efforts kinda worked as I got just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with good retention as well as a faintly-hazy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) beer. Not bad! Nose had the soft sweetness of tropical fruits, which is what they were going for, but it made me long for some bitterness. Mouthfeel was medium, but with an oily slickness on the tongue. The taste, while not bitter, had a tangy quality like mango as opposed to papaya or guava. Interesting. I felt kind of ambivalent about this one throughout since it tasted okay, but it simply was not scratching my hoppy itch. I also tried an in-CAN swirl to rouse any lees, but I was unsuccessful in the endeavor. It remained lightly-hazy, making it a weak example of the style. Finish was in that Twilight Zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry. I felt underwhelmed by the exbeerience. YMMV.

Pours a hazy orange honey gold, capped by a dense white head that quickly drops to a thin cover, and eventually, nothing at all. Lots of fine sand-sized ‘floaties’ are suspended in the body with a few larger globs sinking to the bottom. Citrus lemon & lime with hints of creamsicle orange and ripe honeydew provide an inviting aroma. The taste is fruity & citrusy, with a fleeting tangerine sweetness that quickly dries, but dominates the underlying heat (even as it warms). The mouthfeel is soft and sublime, evaporating off the tongue (although the carbonation is low) and leaving only a slightly herbal green tea finish. An extremely pleasing, easy drinking, hop forward, hazy IIPA that sets a high bar for the style.

 

 

16 ouncer, canned 07-07-20...so definitely not the freshest sample....let see this one has held up in the can.

Fully hazed and darker amber pour. Moderate cap, just a thin collar and low tiny bubble mini fields of lacing left behind.

Ripe, earthy stone fruit sniff, overripe pineapple also comes to mind.

Smooth and tasty....ripe fruits abounding, with notes of more stone fruit, again pineapple, also kiwi, mango, bananas , maple, vanilla...yeah, a lot going on here...Complex and well worth a try....will try for a fresher sample next time....but this was darn good

 

A pretty good overall IPA that’s well balanced and full of citrus notes in the nose and taste. This is a mix of orange peel, grapefruit, orange juice, pineapple, tangerine, caramel, roasted malts, wheat bread and floral notes. A good average IPA.