Molotov Surprise - Pink Guava
Evil Twin Brewing

 

 

i have thought this about a lot of huge ipa, especially from these guys in this molotov series, but this benefits little from being as strong as it is, i would almost prefer it was down even in the 9% abv range, its boozy and warms up downright hot to me at this strength, but the recipe is good and the flavors are groovy. so often pink guava is lumped in with more robust passion fruit, mango, and citrus in beers, so to me it gets lost, sort of being the least familiar of those fruits, its fun to taste it on its own, or at least without other fruit, there is a whole lot of hops in here working alongside it! the fruit is sweet but also kind of floral, short of perfume, but majorly fragrant with the hops in here. citrus notes from the hops for sure, bitter grapefruit rind and pith, and maybe a lighter lime zest element. lots of malt here, there almost has to be, its not sweet or anything, but its clunky to drink, palate coating and heavy even without much residual sugar, and with the booze, this is a sipper at best, almost like lumber on the palate, although once in awhile i like this feel, especially in chilly weather when the days are short, so i didnt mind it, but i could never drink a second can in a sitting. bold flavors but also uniquely balanced too, well made if a bit extreme. ill definitely be down to try any other fruited versions they do of this...

This is a pretty bad beer. Sour and just off

12 ounce can....batch #004 stamped on the bottom.

Pours hazed almond amber, with some floaties floating around on the bottom....leaves nice look super fine strands and bits of lacing on the glass.

LIme and juniper notes on the sniff.

Big, bold and quite heady brew @ 12%! Loaded with biting lime, more juniper/gin, piercing and large tropical notes, grapefruit and some warming alcohol...hugely flavorful, quality night capper....don't drink more then one!

 

 

Molotov Surprise has a medium, off-white head, a hazy, sediment-filled gold-orange appearance, and almost no glass lacing. Aroma is of very bold (harsh) malt & hop resin, and the flavor is similarly bold and intensely bitter. The fruit flavor only show up, faintly, at the end of the sip. Mouthfeel is heavy, and Molotov Surprise #4 finishes medium dry.

RJT

12 ounce can into tulip glass; no can dating, but is a recent release. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep golden amber color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big lightly tart/tangy pink guava, passion fruit, papaya, fruit skin, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, honey, toasted bread, light caramel, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Touch of booze in the aromas as it warmed, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, pink guava, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lightly tart/tangy pink guava, passion fruit, papaya, fruit skin, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, honey, toasted bread, light caramel, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness; and slight fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of pink guava, passion fruit, papaya, fruit skin, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, honey, toasted bread, light caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, pink guava, and bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance; and zero lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate increasing dryness from bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy, bready, sticky, resinous, rindy, and slightly slick balanced mouthfeel that is great. Lightly increasing warmth of 12%, with minimal booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an awesome fruited DIPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, pink guava, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV, despite the fairly aggressive bitter/resinous/drying finish. Great juicy, dank, and earthy hop/fruit complexity; with balanced bready malts. Not overly sweet/heavy for the ABV, with the moderate lingering dryness. Not overdone on the fruit tartness. A really enjoyable offering as expected. All variations have been impressive.

12 oz can poured into a shaker.
Batch #004 Pink Guava.

Appearance
Golden. Good clarity. Short head.

Nose
Guava, caramel, mango, honeydew, and toffee.

Taste
The booze is very apparent. Thick caramel and toffee maltiness. Underlying layers of guava, honeydew, overripe mango, and dank.

Mouthfeel
Full bodied, silky, oily, dry, and moderately bitter.

Overall
The hops really take a backseat to the malts and booze but at 12% who's complaining?

I (mostly) split my time between The FGBS on the east side & Dominion Pizza on the west side in terms of my local beer procurement. They are both VERY good about acCANmondating my requests for singles & both places point me to the latest & greatest upon arrival. We had a laugh with this one as the resident beer guru didn't realize that the way to identify the beer's adjunct was to look on the bottom of the CAN. Ha! He knows now.

From the CAN: "Despite the crudeness it's tricky to make an effective Molotov surprise. Despite its unruly nature it's tricky to resist a game of fruit themed beer roulette - spin the wheel of Evil Twin cause you're in for a fruity surprise."; "Imperial India Pale Ale with Natural Flavors added"; "Batch #004 Pink Guava".

I Crack!ed open this CAN & beCAN a slow, gentle Glug until coming to the realization that there was no need with this bad boy. It was super clear & was not going to go anywhere near hazy no matter what I did. Breathing a sigh of refief, I really amped things up, not quite an inverted Glug, but certainly a free-flowing one! Whee. An in-glass swirl raised a brief two fingers of foamy, fizzy, tawny head that could not wait to fall away to wisps. Not even any lacing. 8=( It was like it was daring me to start in. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. The nose, while definitely tropical fruity, was not as easy to identify as #003 - Peach had been. I would guess Papaya or Guava or a mix of both. Do not misunderstand - I knew what it was from the labeling, but the nose was tough to discern, especially with its inherent fusel alcohol heat. This baby was packin'! Mouthfeel was thick & soft, almost like a dollop of pudding had been laid on my tongue. The taste was clearly of tropical fruit, but I still could not make up my mind between Papaya or Guava. No matter. I ate a LOT of these fruits in the Navy & I still have fond memories of them. Surprisingly, this was relatively easy to drink with a low IBU rate and the heat really did not assert itself until the finish. One belch, though, and I thought that my eyebrows were going to ignite and flames come shooting out of my mouth. This was no playin' around, yo! Yeah, the tropical fruitiness might b lulling me in for the kill, but the kill was definitely there! Finish was semi-dry to dry, a wicked CANbination of fruit & alcohol heat. Phew!

L: Slightly hazy amber color, half finger white head, messy lacing, good carbonation.

S: Tropical fruits, hops. Wonderful aroma.

T: Tropical fruits, hops, alcohol. Very good.

F: Full bodied, great mouthfeel.

O: Very good TIPA.

 

The good 'ole swift kick to the teeth that in the Molotov Cocktail sees yet another resurgence. As if this bomb of a beer isn't a surprise on the palate enough, a new theme emerges. Fruit-centric versions are now rolling out with this batch number one revealing an elevated guava flavor through copious additions of the succulent tropical fruit.

Deep golden and with a slight burnish amber depth, the frothy ale reels in the sense of smell with a host of fruit flavors. Citrus, orchard and tropical blends tease the olfactory while a simmering spice and herb suggests something stronger in both effects and taste. But its the guava character that gives a melon-like, tequila scent. Sweet maltiness splashes the tongue with a blend of poundcake, honey and caramel.

With much of the sweetness in tact, the flavors roll onto the middle palate releasing a plethora hop complexities along the way. Bold citrus flavors of grapefruit from the hops lead the way, but those pink guava flavors kick this taste to the top of the flavor heap. Lime and orange round out the citrus while a rich blend of apricot, mango and peach nearly take on jammy proportions. Spicy and bitter, the monstrous ale round the corner with the sharpness of pine sap, pine needles and a medley of herbaceous grasses.

Full bodied and hitting the palate with a strong curacao liquor spice and boozy warmth, a peppery sensation comes with a malty dry late palate with echoes of citrus rind, agave and guava flowing into a long and bitter aftertaste.