Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA #11
New Belgium Brewing Company

 

 

 

Poured into a nonic.

Pours medium to medium-light gold. An excellent pillowy-soft white head that lingers well. Good lacing.

Aromas are of pale malt, honeydew, citrus, and floral notes.

The pale malt part of the bill is very generous, while the crystal malts are nearly non-existent, replaced with the honey malt listed on the ingredient list. The flavors are mostly citrus (lime more than lemon, a little grapefruit) with a bit of melon and modest tropical flavor. The bitterness is very low for the style, but matches the pale malts, so it balances.

Not crisp, but it is solidly drying. It's definitely medium bodied, but drinks a bit lighter.

This is the second Voodoo Series IPA I've had recently that has featured a somewhat dry, pale malt/subdued IBU approach evocative of the previously trendy but now less-encountered Brut IPA. Very well-balanced and drinkable. More of this and less of the "juice" will get me drinking Voodoo beers again.

Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA pours a darker, golden color with a long-lasting, medium-sized, lacing head. The aroma has a nice crisp citrus note. The flavor is clean and crisp, big on the citrus flavors and a hint of bitterness. Very nice feel. Overall, it's a sweeter, easy citrus-filled IPA.

 

 

Pours a bright & effervescent gold with 2 fingers of pearl colored head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Bready & grassy notes, a little tangerine & green melon once warm

T: Green melons, tangerine, white grapes& dryness up front. Tangerine, a kiss of pineapple, green melon & dryness as this beer warms up. Finishes with tangerine, green melon & a touch of dryness

MF: Medium body, crisp carbonation, good balance

Serviceable take on the style, drinks very easy

Look - 12 oz can poured into a 12 oz glass. Light golden in color, clear, with a nice two finger head and great lacing retention.

Smell - a light but complex blend of hops, with tropical fruits, citrus, some grass, and some sweetness. a really inviting and pleasant mix of smells.

Taste - tropical fruity notes and light sweetness hits the palate first, with low levels of bitterness. finish is lightly malty but very clean.

Feel - medium bodied, above average carbonation, and standard in ABV for the style at 6.6%.

Overall - this is an excellent brew and one that I wish would stay for the long run. An American IPA that is clean, easy drinking, complex, and tasty. A really great beer.

 

With a generous addition of a Citra of hops, the New Belgium's VooDoo Ranger takes an experimental turn that hits the tastebuds with a dedicated citrusy bitter attack.

Pale and slightly hazy gold to the eye, the beer's frothy white head projects a hoppy bouquet of tropical, citrus, herbal and floral perfumes on a bed of grain and grass. As its malty sweetness glosses the tongue, its hone-sweet upstart shares light caramel and granola.

Stretching across the middle palate, a hoppy track takes hold as its sweetness lifts and the bitterness builds upon the relaxing malts. Red grapefruit, tangerine, mango and a hint of grapefruit all lend a fruity character while the finish trends pleasantly grassy with suggestions of chive, geranium, spruce and hemp in a firmly bitter late palate.

Crisp, dry and refreshing, the medium bodied IPA seems lightly grainy in texture and taste which lies well beneath the bitterness. A medium-long aftertaste of bitter resin takes a foot off of the pedal as the session finishes pleasant and bitterly balanced.

New Belgium Brewing Co. "Voodoo Ranger Xperimental IPA #11"
12 fl. oz. can coded "230816082C 13458 14 JAN 2024 XIPA11". Sampled on 5 November 2023
$31.99/24-can Voodoo Ranger Hoppy Pack @ Javies Beverage, Phila., PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: This version of the Xperimental IPA uses Citra hops as well as pale, honey, and Pilsner malts. It's got 32 IBUs and clocks in at 6.6%ABV just like all of the previous incarnations. It's poured a mostly clear golden body beneath a full head of white foam. The aroma offers a basic and sweetish malt base with some citrusy hops. The hops are not bright at all but they are there. On to the taste then, there's more hop character but not a whole lot. I can tell it's Citra but Citra is a fairly strong and clear hop, and I also knew it was there to begin with. So what's the experiment here? To see how few hops you can actually put in and call it an IPA? I'm being serious here. It's a sweetish beer so there's not a whole lot of bitterness to it (32 IBUs), and a little bit of extra alcohol doesn't really make it an IPA in my opinion without hops. Having said that, it's still a decent beer but I really see it as more of a pale ale. On the positive side it does have some nice peach and citrus notes to it (orange, grapefruit, lime), and even some lychee, gooseberry, and sbutly piney resins. In the mouth it's medium bodied with a little bit of a dextrinous edge, and gently crisp with a fine-bubbled, moderate carbonation level. The head held up pretty well and it's left some very nice lacing which would earn it a 4.25 out of 5 for appearance except for the slight haze. I wish it had more hops to it, which I think would bring it into better balance, but it's pretty nice as it is. Unfortunately I don't think this is available outside of the Hoppy Pack variety case. If it was I would certainly buy it but I didn't care too much for the Haze Glare IPA in that mix.
Review #8,773