Picnic Lightning
Brouwerij West

Pours a hazy lemon wheat color with a white head and nice lacing . Smell is fruity ,dank and herbal. taste has citrus ,lemongrass ,melon and papaya. Mout feel is soft sweet more so than dry,very tasty to style .

 

No one likes it when it rains on your picnic. But a little lightening can certainly make things more exciting. Brouwerij West is offering basically the same adrenaline rush for the tastebuds in their Imperial IPA.

Fueled with Citra, Simcoe and Centennial hops, Picnic Lightening hits the glass with a deep and rusty burnt orange appearance, capped with a dense ivory cap. As the aromas of apricot, orange, mango and dates flood the nose, they do so with a caramelized perfume. Sweet on the tongue, suggestions of marmalade, honey, caramel and butterscotch carry a depth of malt character onto the middle palate.

Trending hoppy and less sweet, the malty remnants of lightly toasted grains start to fade. A burst of tropical, citrus and stone fruits have a slightly over-riped and plump sense of flavor before shifting into a bitter and resinous finish decorated with pinecone, spruce tips, grassy botanicals and potpourri.

Spicy with hints of curacao liquor, the bold IPA finishes resinous, sticky and sweet as the last remaining remnants of malt keep the honey and caramel suggestions alive in a long and bittersweet finish.

Pours whitish orange. Very white head with above average lacing. The nose is citrusy as expected. Taste and aftertaste was just so-so in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

great combination of hops hp taste to the finish

 

Someone described this as “delicious mop water”….

I’ve mopped many a kitchen floor and I can absolutely agree that there is an absolute mop water comparison, but for some weird reason it’s not a bad thing.

After the initial musty flavor, it very well-balanced and delicious for a hazy. It’s just that once that association is made with mop water, the flavor is just there.

I like it, I would absolutely drink it again, but it’s the weirdest forward flavor I’ve encountered.

I like it too much,m.

Pale yellow haze in appearance with a decent frothy head that dissipated quickly. Some citrus notes of mandarin, kumquat mixed with some skunky metallic fragrance on the bouquet. Gladly the palate expands on the nicer notes and does not have that questionable metal influence. Juicy & pungent hoppy profile with big marijuana hints that marry well will tropical pineapple notes not detected on the aroma. Nice balance of malt, hop, sweet & bitter on the aftertaste.

Solid Hazy by Brouwerij West. Spy Nap has a similar taste profile with a bit more body but I still like this one. Subtle smells of citrus orange and a light bit of wheat. Reminds me of a mimosa a little bit. Taste is Orange and lemon with a little funky grassy note.

 

 

 

This was a can back in 2019 before it had the "Picnic Lightning" designation on the label that otherwise looks the same.

Pours a hazy yellow light amber of the darker, duller variety compared to say, canary yellow. Looks like I drank this one while disc golfing from the picture. 1/2" off white head. Aroma kicked around the new and old in parity, sweeter citrus notes from Citra, more bitter citrus notes like grapefruit and then pine, provided by Centennial.

Now normally I might look at a Simcoe and Centennial hopped beer with this SRM and think its gonna be an ibu arms race crystal malt laden call to yesteryear. But here, it pairs amply well with the flaked body of the beer, allowing a firm bitterness to be supplanted by citrus and pine notes, but without any harshness of booziness or bitterness to dominate the entire experience. Imagine tangerine, mandarin orange, lime, pine and pineapple notes going on here. Its good stuff, but at nearly $5 a can, prolly not a repeat, but a confirmation the brewery makes good hoppy stuff at least.