Luponic Distortion: IPA Series No. 017
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

(review from November 2020) Another tasty, solid, well balanced, LD offering from FW with great mouthfeel, a hard-to-pin-down/subtle flavor profile and a fruity, lemony, slightly lingering aftertaste. Very subdued hints of berry/citrus/kinda tropical notes, you tell me? Pomelo?

RB transfer

 

 

 

CANNED ON 11/16/20 printed on bottom of can. Might have picked this can up months ago but not drinking it until now. Poured into Duvel tulip.

Appearance - Pours large 3 finger sudsy white head with decent to low retention, decent to low stick and patchy weak lacing. Body is a hazy light-medium gold. Evenly distributed mist of ultrafine floaters. 3.75

Smell - Soft and floral. The grassiness of the hops are understated and blend seemlessly into the floral notes. Faint honey nutty malt underneath even that. 4.5

Taste - Mild bitter grass. Maybe I'm getting a bit of that lime bitterness without much of the flavor. Not detecting any of these blueberries it claims to have. And no idea what a pomelo is but maybe it's to blame for its weirdly out of place bitterness. 2.75

Mouthfeel - Bitter astringency in the finish. Body is soft but scored with the sharp astringency which leads into a crisp but not completely refreshing finish. It's much more mild than the typical IPA yet for some reason the lack of balance due to that sharpness amidst an otherwise delicate and mild beer makes it stand out and feel out of place and weirdly harsh despite being not particularly harsh overall in style. 3

Overall - Disappointing. Not sessionable. Not interesting. Fails on all fronts. 2.75

 

 

Appearance: Pours clear and golden colored with a one finger head that fades to a film; splashy and spotty lacing

Smell: Grainy malt supports a range of hop and fruit aromatics - pomelo and lime prominent with a hint of blueberry

Taste: Grainy tones forward with the fruit flavors quickly emerging; as in the aroma, the pomelo and lime set the tone but the blueberry does appear, after the swallow; the finish brings a touch of medicinal bitterness

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Overall: Refreshing and different but I don't love it

Appearance: Pours a clear, moderately bubble golden color with a minimal soft white head. SRM of 7. (3.75)

Aroma: Moderate aromas of green citrus & tropical fruit with some green melon, green and lime citrus, and even some light apple & grape.

Flavor: The flavor follows with strong lemon/lime citrus, green citrus, kiwi and Asian fruit. Some light apple and grape. Malt body is restrained. Mild bitterness, but most of the drying comes from the carbonation.

Feel: Midler body. Stronger carbonation and clean. Prickly and drinks clean. (4.00)

Compared to Lagunitas Steroscopic IPA 3/24/21: Pours a slightly lighter color with a smaller head. More green citrus and lime. Less resinous and green tropical fruit.

Overall: An extremely drinkable IPA. It has a lot of green citrus & lime with some kiwi, berry, and apple/grape flavors to support. I don't get much blueberry here as I would have expected. and wouldn't have thought this one would be. Overall, a clean and very drinkable IPA. (Final Rating: 3.75)

I wish they still numbered these.

Looks great, crystal clear. Light aroma, subtle hints of blueberries on the nose. Clean sip, low bitterness. Nicely carbonated.

Picked up a single at TW-Camelback 2-22-21 for $1.99. Bottled on what looks like 11-02-20; consumed 3-11-21. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured a deep golden with a nice white head with the original pour.

Nose is great, very tropical and citrus forward.

Taste is a light malt base in which the blueberries stand out with a little bit of tart lime that goes with a decent bittering finish; 6/10 on my scale.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and fairly smooth and refreshing.

Overall another nice display of the wonderful hops most of us love!

cool to see a clear one, and one this low alcohol, perfect for session drinking this time of year and very fresh to me from the tap, lively and bright, minimal on the malt side, just enough for balance and for it to not feel thin, and the mix of hops, whatever they are, really pop. im not sure i could call it blueberry like they do, maybe freeze dried ones in the background, but a bitter tangerine note and a fleshy coconut finish define the hop profile for me, slightly grassy in the center, dynamic, dry hoppy but also well bittered, and very much a complete spectrum experience. there is a little bit of an oily linger on the swallow, perhaps a touch of a dish soap sudsy thing on the finish, but overall this is clean, especially on the ferment and on the finishing dryness. it definitely has a spring time essence, and drinks down really easily. a well timed addition to this series with a very expressive hop profile and something i will look forward to drinking again. i need to do a better job staying current with this series, they have pretty much all been bangers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Type: 12-oz. can
Reviewed as: American IPA
Glass: Melvin 14-oz. Spiegelau IPA glass
Price: $10.99
From: 5 Star Market & Liquor in La Mesa, Calif.
Purchased: Nov. 21, 2020
Consumed: Nov. 21, 2020
Misc.: Canned on Oct. 21, 2020 at 1:37 p.m. PT

Nice seeing this in stores already just a month after the last one. I had each of the first 16 in the series. In the past gave No. 001 a 4.09, No. 002 a 4.34, No. 003 a 4.15, No. 004 a 4.15, No. 005 a 4.07, No. 006 a 3.78, No. 007 a 3.68, No. 008 a 3.94; No. 009 a 3.85, No. 010 a 4.17, No. 011 a 3.92, No. 012 a 3.97, No. 013 a 4.27, No. 014 a 3.82, No. 015 a 3.69 and No. 016 a 3.87. Expecting this one to be in the same range (pretending No. 006, No. 007 and No. 015 never happened). Deep online description read, “One centerpiece of the latest Luponic Distortion is a hop that Firestone Walker first co-sponsored four years ago in an experimental plot cultivated by grower Jason Perrault in the Yakima Valley. “We helped push this hop forward, and we got the first crack at brewing with it,” Brynildson said. “It’s super pungent, and I liken the flavor to the pomelo fruit, which is also known as ‘citrus maxima.’” Another focal point of the latest blend is an emerging hop from the Willamette Valley with a distinct berry character. The remainder of the blend is composed of three classic American “C-hops” to round out the beer’s citrus notes, which include suggestions of lime peel and grapefruit. “We found that when we blended these hops together, there’s a certain alchemy—a luscious blueberry aroma that is reminiscent of a blueberry-basil cocktail,” Brynildson said. He added, “We work closely with breeders and growers so that we can be a part of bringing new hop flavors to the beer drinker. Luponic Distortion is the perfect canvas for this effort, which is really evident in this latest edition.” Hops mentioned were Kettle: CTZ, Simcoe, Chinook, Mandarina. Dry hops were not mentioned.

Poured a pale clear color with 2-to-3 fingers of frothy off-white head. Could see some sporadic bubble streams coming up from the bottom of the glass. Decent watery lacing. Below average retention. (Sight - 3.75)

Smelled blueberry, lime, coconut, grapefruit, mandarin orange, tangerine, white grape and woody pine. Probably some Chinook and Mandarina. (Smell - 4.00)

Tasted almost as good as the nose. In order got grapefruit rind, coconut, blueberry, lime, woody pine, Chinook, spicy Simcoe, black pepper, mandarin orange, tangerine and papaya. (Taste - 4.00)

Medium body. Oily texture. Average carbonation. Long, slightly finish. (Feel - 4.25)

For sure one of the better ones I’ve had. (Actually eighth out of 17). Outstanding overall. (Overall - 4.00)

4.01 | 90 | A-