El Jugo
La Cumbre Brewing Co.

this is great, even off from max freshness, its surely fruit forward, and i love that the label says "fruit notes derived from hops." this is in stark contrast to what new belgium and firestone and others are trying to pull on us, and i love it! few things to really dig here, the tropical profile and uniqueness chief among them, but i also appreciate a slightly lower abv than has become standard, as well as a soft mouthfeel despite its turbidity, its not messy and it doesnt drink as thick as it looks. aroma and flavor of straight up mandarin oranges from the can with little wafts of pineapple, bursting ripe cantaloupe, and white grapes, really a nice summery bouquet, a touch sweet but in an enhancing way, the citrus is drippy in here, and this feels high saturation without any greenness at all, could there be some hop products in play beyond just pellets? maybe, it reads that way to me anyway, love the early onset and punchy brightness it has. the grain is enhancing in this, and it feels fluffy and puffy, airy rather than weighty, great structure for these hops to climb all over, and this feels maybe thiol boosted in terms of the ferment, like a real high aromatic extraction is obvious, and impressive, bold but unforced, a hard line to walk but this one does it well, lemongrass and tangerine and grapey weed as it warms, some trace grassiness, delicious overall, would be curious to know what hops are in this, its got a personality all its own, very enjoyable. this is what these guys do best, no surprise its excellent.

Pours a very hazy pineapple color with a foamy white head that leaves big splotches of lacing. Looks great in the glass.

The nose features ripe orange, guava, passionfruit, and pineapple in fairly equal amounts, and the taste reflects those flavors, with the guava and ripe orange especially delicious.

The mouthfeel is medium and soft, fitting the beer. This is a juice bomb, but not too juicy, with a nice bit of lingering bitterness. Really well done, IMHO.

This is perhaps the best hazy IPA from a brewery that can do no wrong. A huge, juicy beer filled with citrus, mango, papaya, and just enough bitterness—a hint of lime leaf at the end. Smooth, without any of that oatiness encountered in hazies made by less competent brewers. I wish La Cumbre would make this a permanent offering. Better than anything in Arizona. Cheers!

L: Pale milky opaque like a pineapple popsicle, with a two finger dense white froth with good retention and lacing.

S: Muted smells of underripe mango and wet stone. Nice. Wish it was more fragrant.

T: A great complexity here. No taste dominates. Equal shares of guava, mineral spirits, tart lemon rind, and a grassy herbal flavor. Quite bitter. Lastly touches of pineapple and white pepper!

F: Light to medium weight, smooth with decent carbonation, no chalkiness and a dry finish.

O: Overall this was a great beer to tick off the state of New Mexico. Hope to enjoy future juice from the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A really nice hazy IPA. A little extra on the carbonation, but otherwise good. From na aroma and a good bright yellow color. Nice hop profile. Really it's the carbonation that holds this back from excellence.

A: Hazy light gold color with rich white foamy head and sticky lacing.
N: Notes of pineapple, citrus, grapefruit, grapes, and malt.
T: Follows the nose, really nice mix of pineapple and citrus with a hint of grapes, some malt and mild grapefruit bitterness.
M: Light to medium feel, clean and easy to drink.
O: This sucker grows on you, very nice beer from La Cumbre

 

16 oz. Can
CO: 04/11/19
BB: 07/10/19

Poured into a Trillium glass a pretty nice cloudy pale yellow color, pretty nice carbonation, with a pretty nice thick/creamy one-finger off-white head, which also leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is hoppy, malty, with a pretty nice citrus complex (orange, tangerine, mango, peach), nice little diesel. The taste is pretty nice, hoppy, malty, with a pretty nice citrus complex (orange, tangerine, mango, peach), pretty nice little diesel like. Medium body, ABV hidden very nicely, with a pretty nice little dry/bitter finish. Overall, this is a pretty tasty brew. Addictive! Orange Julius! MilkShake! Glad to see it around here. I'm guessing, at least to me, this is La Cumbre's version of an NE Style APA, I like it.

16 oz can. Pours murky orangy yellow with a small white head that quickly goes to a thin collar that leaves little lacing.

The aroma is sweet fruit juice and floral wheat malt and some onion hops.

The flavor is sweet wheat malt and fruit with some resiny hops in the finish. The mouthfeel is rather thin and watery.

Overall, a decent NE IPA.

Type: 10-oz. draft
Glass: Clear 10-oz. pilsner glass
From: La Cumbre Brewing in Albuquerque, N.M.
Price: $12 for a 4-pack
Purchased: Nov. 2, 2018
Consumed: Nov. 2, 2018
Reviewed as: New England Pale Ale
Misc.: N/A

Went to the source to review a few beers on a recent work trip to Albuquerque, N.M. La Cumbre really does everything well and I expected this one to be good as well. Had Citra Smash right before it. Can’t remember the hops, but picked up a 4-pack of 16-oz. cans for just $12. Would be a quick review.

Was dark in the place, but appeared to be a hazy gold color with 2-to-3 fingers of frothy white head when I got it. Could see a few bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass in the dark. Outstanding spotty lacing. Outstanding retention. (Sight - 4.25)

Smelled lots of tropical notes in guava, pineapple, passion fruit, mango blossom, floral, peach and lime grass. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted just like a tropical juice bomb. Got guava, peach, mango blossom, pineapple, passion fruit, fruit punch, orange juice, floral, lime grass and tangerine. (Taste - 4.00)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Juicy finish. (Feel - 4.25)

This was just a lovely beer. I remember thinking I was underrating this beer at the time and later bumbled it up just slightly on the overall mark (4.25 from 4.00). Excellent. (Overall - 4.25)

4.15 | 93 | A-

From tasting notes 11/03/18
Had on-tap at La Cumbre in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Appearance - Served in pint. Hazy and mellow orange color. Thin, broken layer of suds. Good lacing with large chunks, lines and smaller spotting.

Smell - Hints of citrus. Orange with a touch of grapefruit zest.

Taste - Follows nose. Legit mix of pink grapefruit and lesser orange juiciness. Tasty, but very light flavor profile overall.

Mouthfeel - Light-to-medium in body with fair carbonation. Slick, easy drinker before a slightly flat finish.

Overall - Good hazy. Could be amazing if they could squeeze more 'juice' into the strength of flavor because what's there has a naturally citrus deliciousness.

L - exactly what you would expect, a dense, hazy (NE)IPA
S - a little subdued, definitely citrus and some oily hops, but the real character is revealed on...
T - juicy bounty of bitter but balanced hops, real play, a few layers in here, almost pillowy. Lovely.
F - Good carbonation, clean lines, very well made, great mouthfeel - just not a category-bender.
O - one of the better "niche" IPA experiments that Cumbre has done.

Yum