Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA #8
New Belgium Brewing Company

 

Never a big fan of the Ranger series, but this one cuts it. (Been revisiting the macro micros of late.) Third of three from a sampler pack; not much to look at but smells of tropics and the taste has a generous hop bite. Not quite a West Coast onslaught, but there's pine and herbal notes to go with the juiciness. Back end is oily, but overall it drinks light and easy. Wife likes Fat Tire, so, overall, the FT, Voodoo-X, Trippel, 1554 variety pack is a winner.

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden orange color with a small, off-white head of foam. It left thin lacing on the glass. It smelled of pine, caramel, toffee and orange peel. Sweet citrus, caramel and toffee taste with a piney bitterness.

Pours a very pale golden color. Very light yet hop forward with dark fruits. Lots of head with considerable lacing. Hoppy hempy smell. Not that many ibus. A bit stronger than one of those light IPAs. Apricot, pineapple along with raspberry and mango flavors. Quite tropical. A hazy hop forward IPA that is also light.

 

 

 

 

New Belgium Brewing Co. "Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA #8"
12 fl. oz. can. "SEE BOTTOM FOR ENJOY BY DATE 12 FEB 2023 XIPA8 220917031V 34455". Sampled 15 NOV 2022.
$2 @ ShopRite #519, Philadelphia, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: I asked this about the last Xperiment but I'll ask again, what do we know about Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA #8? There's nothing on the label except that it's 6.6% ABV which is the same as the last one. Are they all the same base beer just with different hops? That would make sense; of course I would like to know what hops are in there. It's poured a clear golden body beneath a full head of white foam. The aroma offers a basic and sweetish malt base alongside some candied orange and some other tropical fruit, perhaps papaya and guava. It's very mild and I'm a little confused by that but let's just move along. The flavor is fuller. It's sweetish but there's also some acidity to it that helps to balance it along with a median bitterness of less than 40 IBUs. Wow, it might actually be less than 30 IBUs. I'm getting some additional notes of apricot, nectarine, soft but sweet red berries, and just a hint of sweetened pink grapefruit. Ahh, maybe a hint of pineapple as well - still, I'm going to go back to what I said about the aroma, the flavor is mild, at least for an IPA. That doesn't mean that I don't like it but I was expecting more. If you wanted to you could crush this. Hell, I'm writing a review and I'm already halfway through it in probably less than 10 minutes. As it warms I'm getting some floral character, a touch of grassiness, and some delicate pine. The head has held up really well and there's some very impressive lacing all about the glass. In the mouth it's medium bodied and velvety smooth. So now I've finished my glass; it went very quickly. I'm not sure what to make of this one, or how to score it. It's very mild, and really more of a pale ale than an IPA even at 6.6% ABV. There are no techincal issues with it, but the aroma is lacking. It's good, but c'mon, seriously? For an IPA it's lame. I'm also not finding anything even remotely new despite it being an "Xperimental IPA", although you can't ding it for that. And, on the other hand, it is incredibly quaffable, which is a positive. I just don't know.
Review #8,377

12 oz. can, enjoy by date on the bottom 29 JAN 2023 XIPA8 from what I can. I'm hopefully reviewing this beer in the correct spot since I have no idea which version of this beer I really I have (it looks like 8 on the bottom). All of these seem to have the exact same can and apparently abv as well? No idea what kind of hops went into this one, I picked this up as part of a random mixed six pack at the local Binny's.

Poured to a Southern Tier Warlock glass.
Pours much lighter in color than expected, almost more yellowy than orange, nice golden hues. Small finger of white head that settles quickly. Some good random fluffy lacing. Looks fresh & well carbonated.
Aroma is a bit soft, delayed, but what's here is excellent: big fresh & floral hops - notes of flowers, cream, with notes of citrus fruit, pineapple, & candi sugar. Notes of fresh dough / breadiness.
Taste follows the nose: hugely fresh & floral tasting, almost Mosaic hop like qualities to this one. Florals, pine resin, pineapple, mandarin orange, citrus zest. Hop bitterness is nicely balanced with whatever malts have been used here, rounding out the pine & resin flavors with some good doughy breadiness.
Smooth, crisp, clean. Medium-bodied, very easy-drinking stuff.
Overall, this is actually a pretty impressive tasting beer, considering it's Voodoo Ranger brethren aren't always known for their superb quality. This one however comes recommended.

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA 8 -----4/5.