Willow
Idle Hands Craft Ales

 

Wow, I can't believe it's been 9 years for them. I still remember visiting them in a small dump in the industrial park, next to Night Shift. Canned 9/30/20

Pours a huge frothy 3 finger head that forces me to stop pouring, fades semi slowly, good retention, some messy lacing, mostly clear slight hazy med orange color with a little reddish hue

Nose is somewhere between NEIPA and West Coast, initially more WC with citrus and pine, orange zest, grapefruit, a bit floral and grassy as well, sweet candied citrus, hint of smooth alcohol and barely any malt

Taste brings some cracker malt up front, sweet malt and maybe a bit more than a typical WCIPA, but hops kick in nicely, with med bitterness that creeps up, plenty more citrus, tangerine, young orange, a bit of grapefruit as well, into a bit of pine as well as some dank spicy hops, a bit more sweet candy and candied fruit almost orange marmalade, finishes a bit drier, flash of smooth alcohol, med bitterness at first but the finish really lingers and the spicy piney hop bitterness gets pretty high

Mouth is med bod, med to a bit higher foamy carb, light warming alcohol

Overall pretty good, about what I remember drinking for the WCIPAs made on teh East Coast years ago (before the haze craze).

I wasn't aware that Idle Hands basically straight-up said they wouldn't ever brew a West Coast/old-school IPA, but apparently they did at one point make that claim (perhaps privately, but I digress), and here they are nine years into their existence with their anniversary ale brewed as a WCIPA clocking in at a solid 7.1% ABV. No idea about the hops here but I'd wager they're probably "C" hops, as is the tradition of this style. This beer was canned on 9/30/20, making it just over a week old... nice and fresh, just the way I like it!

The pour is a fairly-hazy (but not opaque) medium-amber color with a dingy undertone to it at first. When held up to light, it appears as a moderately orange-hued beer with a sizable head of bone-white foam measuring about three fingers, which sinks down to a solid finger after several minutes in my glass, leaving behind excellent lace and legs. Not huge on the hue or "sorta-hazy, sorta-clear" appearance here; in my opinion, WCIPAs should pretty much be crystal clear, so the half measures this kinda goes by in that regard hurt it. That said, the head, retention, legs, and lace are spectacular, so I'm a bit torn.

The nose is snappy and floral-forward with some grapefruit, pomelo, orange, and tangerine zest making up the majority of the initial wave of hoppy goodness this delivers. Some definite lemon verbena, grassiness, and light pine resin start coming out after a few minutes in my glass, and I'm happy to say this definitely feels rather redolent of the WCIPA style I know and love. Very few breweries make good versions of this style these days, especially when it comes to my local New England area, so I'm feeling some high hopes for this one.

Flavor profile is a little chewy and malty with some soft bitterness in the mid-palate, boasting flavors of rind-like citrus and impressive floral notes. Light lemon, pine, and sweet malty notes come out in the finish, but there is very little aggression here in terms of feel and bitterness overall. The flavors are good, but the delivery leaves something to be desired. I tend to want WCIPAs to have some edge to them, some bite and gusto, and this definitely feels a bit neutered in those regards. As such, the flavors seem a bit underdeveloped, and I even think some of the yeasty elements in the backend bias this in an unusual way towards a more "modern" feel that doesn't jive overall. An unusual attempt on this style, but it's really a tough one to nail given the shift in beer drinkers' palates at large over the past decade. Credit where credit's due, as not many MA-area brewers even attempt this style these days, but it's not really great, just good.

Aroma of opening fresh hop pellets, more citrus than pine to my nose. Flavor is classic west coast grapefruity pine, solidly bitter but not over the top. Prickly carbonation keeps it morish. Fantastic beer, check it out if you can