Deadly Combination: Galaxy and Mosaic
Barrier Brewing Company

 

 

 

This was part of a bunch of beers that I traded for relatively recently, with a good friend that tends to get me a nice selection of what's available in this neck of the woods. I hadn't had an offering from Barrier in ages, as the line share at Other Half has been nonexistent since the pandemic hit. Thankfully, this lived up to past beers that I reviewed on here as it reminded me of Other Half's dual hop releases, with the end result being something smooth, slick, and easily enjoyable.

Not surprisingly, this poured a very murky melon with a nicely sufficient head topping it off. That settled a bit rapidly as the lacing left behind was shockingly sparse - just a wavy hint of a ring near the top of my pint glass with a few splotches right below that. Lots of fruit in the nose, including melon, apricot, guava, and exotic hops to top everything off. Some hints of cream, tropical bitterness, yeast, and fruit cocktail in the mix along with an underlying greenness that never let up as this fully warmed up. A bit of dark sediment was at the bottom of the liquid but that was this beer's only detraction as the aftertaste as full of deep forest, weed, and overripe tropical fruit; with everything fitting in nicely with the gently smooth and slick mouthfeel that left a soft, nectarine coating on my palate after each sip.

This felt and tasted stronger than it was in actuality, as every bit of the 7.4% ABV made itself known. The date on the bottom was 6/11 as this matured nicely over the last month and a half. Lots of tangy lime came through in the end and in the aftertaste as it melded well with everything else that was going on here. Enjoyed this beer and all it had to offer as it was one of the more solid brews from Barrier that I've been able to get my hands on!

 

Canned on 06/11/20 on bottom rim of can. Poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

A: Hazy gold with 2-3 finger white frothy head with amazing retention (a pillow of foam just lays on top of the beer) with copious lacing.

S: Aromas of passion fruit, pineapple, guava, apricot, and Juicy Fruit gum esters float off the top of the enormous cap of head.

T: Flavor is tough to beat with pineapple juice, passion fruit, lemon-lime, guava, candied papaya, and mango all slipping in with low bitterness and big fruity yeast esters. Alcohol lends some more sweetness.

M: Soft, juice-like feel with moderate carbonation (which adds to the enormous head) and reasonable drinkable finish that is not heavy.

O: Impressive beer from Barrier — the base beer is strong and seems battle-tested and obviously the hop combo is a winner but they do all the little things well to make it a superior NEIPA with the right appearance, aroma, flavor, and feel. Stellar beer here and I hope we get access to others in the Deadly Combination series.