To The Milky Way & Back IX
Evil Twin Brewing

the first ive had from the nyc arm of evil twin, much excitement around this one for me, been long wanting to get into their stuff, love the experimentation, the packaging, still some of the more exciting stuff out there i feel, and its cool this got packaged and came all the way to idaho, i about leapt out of my jeans when i saw this on the shelf. usually not a big milkshake guy, too much sweet and sediment to really ever pop for me, there are exceptions, but this is generally the rule, but still, had to pick it up from these guys and im glad i did, one of the least milky and lactose forward, and more refined examples of the style i have had in some time. this iteration is done with yuzu, buddhas hand, and tangerine, really bright and fresh to me. the pour is a slightly opaque orange, with just a short head on it, and a little bit of sediment in the bottom of the can that sort of looks like fruit puree, settles out in the glass just a bit. the nose is impressively citrus forward, as is the flavor, almost candied to me with the lactose, the buddhas hand zesty tang is amazing, and the tangerine is maybe the most forward to me of the fruits, but grapefruit, green grape, and a little peach nectar also seem to be present, some cool hop and fruity synergy happening. noticeably absent from this is either a huge starchy grain base or an over the top vanilla tornado, its lighter and fairly clean to drink for the style, the fruit is fermented mostly down, and the lactose enhances it without making this desserty, and if there is vanilla at all in here, its awfully subtle, not a distraction as it often is in the milkshake types. i could stand a tad more hop bitterness here, but i do love the way these hops and this citrus play together, an almost staggeringly robust climax of flavor in the center of this where everything comes together super well, and then a slow fade into a drinkable feeling finish, not the style norm for sure. carbonation might be a little light, but i like this beer just as much for what it isnt as i do for what it is, and it was a lot of fun to drink. i hope this is the beginning of a long line of evil twin nyc beers on parade out this way. the price was savage here, i mean brutal, but the beer is superior to what pretty much everyone else is doing in the style right now, certainly locally. very good.

Just like the last beer reviewed, this one checked all the boxes for me for a milkshake, fruit-adjunct IPA that leans heavily into grapefruit and citrus territory - yum! The fruit is tart and authentic but never pushes this beer into sour-IPA territory for me. The lactose is perfect, leading to a candied-fruit character that works start-to-finish. I crushed this one.