IYKYK
Barrier Brewing Company

Copenhagen 7/7 2020. 47,3 cl can from Best of Beers. A lot of green backs and Euros on the can. Quite strange description of the beer: India Pale Ale "Double Dry hopped with Hops". Makes me wonder If it is at all possible to dry hop a beer without using hops?

Pours opaque, milky, hazy yellow with a medium-sized, white head. Settles as uneven lumpy layer of foam struggling to cover the surface of the beer. Substantial lacing.

Aroma is is fairly intense and very much on the citric side. Light odor of exotic fruit soon overpowered by citric odors. Peach and mango. Citrus and grape fruit in abundance.

Light carbonation. Slightly thick, soft, smooth, lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is medium intense with a medium strong sweetness followed and balanced by a medium strong, citric bitterness. Aftertaste is citric and bitter. Lingers for a while. Finish is dry.

Well balanced, tasty NEIPA with a satisfying intensity. Good one.

 

Last March (2020), shortly after the lockdown & quarantine CANmenced, I found myself doing a deep dive into Barrier BC & their many collaborations in the furtherance of The CANQuest (tm). I finished everything in my backlog, but felt CANpelled to keep an eye out for others that might appear in distro. Lo & behold, here is one such beer!

From the CAN: "IYKYK (If You Know You Know) India Pale Ale Double Dry Hopped with Hops"; "In Cohesion with Verdant Brewing Co."; "Designed by krittabug".

I was feeling CANhesive as I Crack!ed open the vent for a C-Line Glug. I was fairly certain that this one was CANrectly identified as an NEIPA & so there was no need for gentility. My sub-aggro assault netted me just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with very good retention. Color was a murky, turbid Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose was oddly restrained, like CANdied or dried fruits, but understated as opposed to being up front & CANfrontational. Mouthfeel was medium, but very soft in the mouth & on the tongue. The taste definitely lived up to the melon billing while the dank icky sticky was less of a presence. I would be very CANurious to know what the hops (& malt, at that rate) was. Once again, I was involved in a CANundrum. I liked it well enough in its style, but its lack of bitterness was causing me to be itchy without CANything to scratch it. Finish, therefore, was semi-dry but only because it was not sweet at any point. I need more IBUs from an IPA of any stripe & this did not deliver. Oh well. YMMV.