Project X: Conditioned Reflex
Mother Earth Brew Co.

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: New England IPA
Glass: Pure Project 14-oz. Teku glass
Price: $3.49
From: Windmill Farms in Del Cerro (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Dec. 15, 2021
Consumed: Dec. 15, 2021
Misc.: Canned on Nov. 9, 2021 at 11:05 a.m. PT

Went to Windmill Farms for a sandwich and told myself I was going to casually look at beers and grab a few if it made sense. Well, I came back with a 4-pack of Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy and nine singles, including one of these. Their website called this “PINEAPPLE AND PASSIONFRUIT DOMINATE the aroma while a simple grain bill of pale 2-row, wheat, and oats lend a persistent cloudiness characteristic of the style. With a primarily late addition hop schedule, the mid palate provides a supportive backbone and the juicy yeast strain allows for body without the use of lactose. It’s like cracking open a can of tropical fruit juice, but without the heartburn to follow.” Mentioned hops on the can were Mosaic and Vic Secret.

Poured a bright light golden hazy color with 2-to-3 fingers of frothy off-white head. Could see plenty of bubble streams coming up along the sides of the glass. Outstanding spotty lacing. Good retention. (Sight - 4.00)

Smelled pineapple, passion fruit, Vic Secret, melon, viney berry, lime, Mosaic, floral, green leaf and hints of herbal. Better out of the can. (Smell - 4.00)

Taste wasn’t quite as good as the nose but close. In order got Vic Secret, passion fruit, pineapple, melon, viney berry, light Mosaic, peppery spice, lime, green leaf and dry grass. (Taste - 3.75)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Bitter, abrupt finish. (Feel - 3.75)

This was very good overall. Might have been at little bit past its prime though. (Overall - 3.75)

3.83 | 86 | B+

Quite good, but lacking what the best possess. I’d score it better with less hops bitterness, you may prefer it as is.

Pint can with genesis date 10/22/21, served in pint glass. Enormous tropical hop juice aroma. Outstanding smell, even for a NE IPA. Beer is thick and pulpy looking, completely hazed, with a bit of pillowy white head. Flavor combines a traditional C-hop bitterness with wild tropical flavors of pineapple and mango. Drinkable, fruity, punchy, flavorful, and I want to keep coming back for more... maybe a controversial take, but this is one of my favorite NE IPAs I've ever had.

Canned 12/20/21 consumed from a tall tulip glass on 1/29/22. Pours opaque with color of yellow grapefruit juice. 1.5 fingers of what appears to be tight, stiff white head, but it recedes fairly quickly leaving the barest film of head covering maybe 70% of the surface within about 5 minutes. Leaves only a token amount of lacing. Smells like grapefruit juice with some malty backbone. Very interesting mouthfeel: smooth and viscous but with a barely there, tingly sensation on the tongue, but not like individual bubbles, almost more like an acid etch. Buy this if you like opaque hazy IPAs that are grapefruit dominant, but are not looking for impressive looks

16oz can from Hops & Bottles. Hazy straw colored pour, fading foamy head. Light citrusy aroma leads into a much stronger grapefruit peel taste. Juicy for a bit, zesty, mildly dry.

 

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a tulip glass.

Look- Pale gold, hazy, no visible sediment, below average head retention, average lacing.

Smell- Clementine, melon, mango.

Taste- Clementine, pithy, very astringent.

Feel- Between medium and full body, average carbonation, astringent, creamy.

Overall- Unbalanced astringent/pithy flavor.

 

 

banger of a new one here, fresh on tap in their nampa taproom, its a lovely brew, fruity and modern, very well refined, not messy or heavy or overdone, they have really come into their own on the hazy stuff of late, this is excellent top to bottom. pale yellow color, soft and inviting looking, high headed and creamy textured to drink, dry with great carbonation, a clean ferment, and a medium body, just right for the style, well refined. they dont tell us the hops used, but its a pretty complex profile, elements of grassy noble hops, tropical new wave hops, and catty mosaic, among other nuances like ripe melon, mango, and apricot, its pungent and fresh as can be, almost burns my tongue but not in that overdone green bite way, in an oily sort of rich way, really enjoyable, and it stays with me awhile despite the dry finish. papaya and coconut and tangerine also exist in the mix here, some weed and some honey too, its impressively dynamic and bright, and it suggests some cryo hops or even hop hash, although i dont know that for sure. i really liked this, it opened up a lot and got better as it warmed too, and its less alcohol forward than some of their others have been in recent memory. this is top notch, and i would put it up there with just about any ipa produced in idaho these days. fantastic beer.

edit: just as good from the can, so bright and alive, epic art on the cans too, this series definitely represents the cutting edge of the mother earth stuff, top notch here. super drinkable as the hazy stuff goes, i love this one!