Three Magic Letters
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Roy_Hobbs for this HF gem.
Turbid gold, fluffy head. Pretty solid retention with scattered lacing.
Aromas of grapefruit, orange zest, pine, and a subtle pissy Nelson note (often a turnoff for me, but subtle here), herbal pepper, and a dash of dank.
Flavor definitely starts assertively with a one, two punch of Citrus and Nelson. Then a dank resiny note chimes in followed by a mix of pepper, mango, wet grass, and some indistinct earthy tropical notes. There's also a very pleasing grain note that hints at oats in both flavor and feel.
Mouthfeel is lovely. Somewhat soft and fluffy yet not light. Carbonation is spot on. A drying bitterness brings it home.

Canned 10/27/20 and poured into a tulip. Appearance is nice, although it doesn't stand out in any particular way. Bright, glowing hazy yellow wiht not a ton of head / head retention. Lacing is solid. Aroma is really nice, although it's not exactly jumping out of the glass. Grapefruit, and I hate to say it, but a bit of cat pee on the nose (is it possible to say "but not in a bad way"?)

Taste is medium bitterness with maybe some mango / grapefruit notes? I'm not a big IPA guy, and find the taste good, but not great. Fairly pillowy feel.

 

 

Hazy straw yellow with a moderate off-white foam that dies to an airy froth leaving thin but spongy arms of lace.

Lovely lovely nelson aromas explode from the can immediately after the *pop* sound. On the palate, peppery nelson, which I do so love, pairs perfectly with the toasty crackery malt chosen for this brew. Riwaka provides dichotomously juicy and bitter mango skin and citrus rind, while simcoe gives a hint of that accenting stank. Despite being bitter overall, as it comes closer to room temp and the bottom of the pour, it all shockingly comes together in an expression of Spree candies.

The medium-light body has an airy froth that firms up before finishing paper dry.

Absolutely delicious.

On tap at Mule Bar

A- The 12oz can pours into an 8oz becher glass with a golden yellow hue and a one finger white cap. There is a fairly thick and foamy, creamy texture to the head and it has good retention. Large webs of lacing form regularly on the glass.

S- Strong hops make up most of the aroma with a hop profile that is primarily stone/tropical fruits, citrus and dank with some floral, herbal and pine hints. Peach, ruby red grapefruit, orange, berries, dank weed, slight onion, mango and melon specifically. Light touch of cracker, honey and pale grains.

T- For me much of what was found in the aroma carries over to the taste and the Nelson gets a bit of a boost in the flavor profile with a pretty distinct spicy, dank, grape and citrus zest hop profile. Rounding that bouquet out are pine, floral, herbal, orange, mango and peach hops. Overall balanced between the zesty and juicy. Whole wheat bread, oats, honey and crackery malt notes.

MF- Light-medium bodied but smooth and soft on the taste buds with a creamy and foamy texture. The carbonation is on at a medium-high level and it ends with solid herbal, citrus zesty bitterness.

Juicy stone and tropical fruits lead quickly into bitter grapefruit, spicy, dank and herbal hops and all in all it finds a nice balance. No surprise and another six pack that won't last all that long.

 

Canned a week ago

L — Amber orange haze with 1.5 fingers of off-white head produced with moderate pour. Great retention and lacing, as usual
S — Yellow peach, white grape, blueberry, fresh pine, honeydew melon, spearmint
T — Vibrantly grassy and earthy upfront, followed by some creamy pale malt sweetness and a bit of rindy citrus character
F — Medium mouthfeel, medium carb. Somewhat fluffy and definitely more bitter than many of the other HF IPAs

83/100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This hazy straw-colored beer props up a foamy off-white head that draws your nose to the citrus aromas that literally explode from this beer. Mandarin oranges, pineapple, passion fruit, mango - just a hop lover’s “spicy citrus” extravaganza.

The oranges and pineapple are the initial flavors on the taste, but the mango is what sets this hazy IPA apart from the proliferation of examples of this style of beer, and the way that flavor is subtly combined with the other flavors to yield this world-class beer.

It has all the juicy flavor, in balance, so you don’t get that “juicy burn” on the palate that leads to “premature palate fatigue” (Registered Trademark). A magnificent beer from an exceptional brewery, IMHO.

Canned 28 Oct 2019, received in trade with rodmanfor3. Thanks, Rick!

A hazy orange with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and lacing, this looks great. The nose is juicy, creamy, fruity with honey, fresh orange juice, a little mango nectar, a touch of grapefruit juice, a little passionfruit, a little peach. Particularly clean, with no real grass notes. A mild oat like delicately doughy sweetness is present. The palate opens with a juicy sweetness, a blend of OJ, pineapple, passionfruit and a little mango. The sweetness brings to mind ripe clementines, and the light oat flavor also adds a little soft body to the beer. Sweet orange lingers on in the finish, mildly drying and particularly creamy. Delicious, lovely mouthfeel.

 

 

 

 

 

This New England IPA is subtle, even elegant. The taste transfer between New Zealand and Simcoe hops evolves on your palette slowly, luxuriously. Just when you think the flavor jam is over, Three Magic Letters strikes up the band again. Simcoe prevails with tropical fruit overruling NZ hop bitterness.

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed on tap at the Dive Bar.

A - Poured into a tulip a nice pale golden hue with a thick white head that fades to leave sticky lacing and a thick blanket.

S - Aromas of light malts, almost sweet honey, little citrus, tons of dank hops, loads of bright candied citrus peel. Almost marmalade like.

T - Taste is similar to the nose with loads of sweeter citrus peel and orange marmalade. Nice musty hops and passion fruit. Excellent flashes of tropical notes.

M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, good clean finish.

O - Overall this was a solid enough ipa, nice use of southern hemisphere hops.

Serving Type: on tap