Mystery Box IPA
Lefty's Brewing Company

Poured from a 16oz can (canned on date: 08 September 2017) into a Lefty's branded can-shaped glass.

A - Pours a blood orange/deep amber color with a single finger of a creamy, white head. Although the initial head had minimal retention, the can-shaped glass provided enough nucleation to sustain a nice film of head throughout consumption. A bit dark for an 8.4% ABV IPA, but beautifully clear nonetheless. (4.0)

S - Sticky and sweet in equal proportions. Juicy hops in the form of the advertised Galaxy, Azacca and Citra hops along with a healthy malt backbone makes for that sticky and sweet combination. (4.25)

T - Much like the nose, the fruits dominate first followed by a sweet, caramel malt and then finishes dry. (4.25)

M - The body is Medium-plus and the lack of alcohol warmth along with some decent carbonation makes this one immensely quaff-able brew. (4.5)

O - Despite the advertised 8.4% ABV, there is no alcohol noted in the nose, taste or mouthfeel...very well attenuated. I love the juxtaposition of juicy and piney hops alongside the sweetness from the caramel malts. Mystery Box is a very enjoyable, hoppy IPA and hope I have an(other) opportunity of experiencing this again. At $16/4-Pack, it is good value and there are a lot of flavors to embrace with this one...but I wish it was closer to $12-14/4-Pack (4.25)

 

Pours a semi opaque copper with a tiny cream head. A little bit of lacing. Aroma is WOW when you first open the can. Even from 3 feet away I could smell the tropical fruits as this bad boy was cracked open. Taste is an abundance of tropical hops with a healthy malt backbone. Feel is medium to heavy with average carbonation. Slightly creamy. Overall one of the most drinkable DIPAs I've come across.

Leftys has a distinctive brewing approach. It's good to see that they are distributing outside Western MA.

This is a home run beer. One of the better NEIPAs I've tasted in a while.

Cloudy copper gold color with a 3F head which takes a while to resolve.

Great aroma, different than a lot of IPAs. Toffee, fruit, sweet.

Light carbonation. I like this. The carbonation doesn't overwhelm the taste. Not too bitter.

Wonderful fruit, toffee, taste. Chocolate notes enter With warming.

Another stellar addition to the NEIPA lineup. Although this a style, Leftys approach is different, accentuating the malt toffee character of the beer.

Poured into a snifter. Very hazy and dark orange brown. Creamy head and lacing. Citrusy hoppy smell, slight malty backing. Taste is hoppy and citrusy on the forefront with a slight bitterness following. Creamy mouth filling feel. Tasty.

 

On-tap 4/30/2017 at British Brewing Company in Walpole, MA, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep golden brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick but spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains citrus, caramelized malts and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of caramel and citrus. Then a subdued hops bitterness comes in. The malt character is hearty and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, good kick, decent representation of style, while is might not be a typical hop-bomb it’s still a solid 2IPA.