Vanitas
Omnipollo

 

 

This was especially complex. Aroma held through to the end. Nice frothy head with lacing. Flavors developed and changed from beginning to end as beer warmed. Fruity and nutty, sweet at first then finished dry with pleasant bitterness that leaves you wanting another sip. And I mean sips because you want to get everything it has to offer. Stands out among other common excellent beers in double ipa New England styles with haze. I love it in my favorite of styles in a class of it's own. Going to find more asap!

 

Vanitas is hazy sunshine, similar to mango juice in a PBGC dimpled mug. An off-white, creamy head is short lived at one-quarter inch. Some lacing. While it looks like what it should, it is less bright than I prefer.

The aroma is herbal, grassy, with pine resin. Pistaccios and grains are noticeable. These may be slightly more than simply suggestion. The aroma is more like the claim on the can for an IIPA rather than an NEIPA.

Similar to the aroma, the flavor is more like an IIPA than an NEIPA. The pine far outweighs mango and pineapple. The bitterness also outweighs the sweetness. The finish is very dry.

Alcohol and body are as expected. The watery texture has a muddy quality, while the carbonation is fine and prickly.

This is enjoyable and clearly on the edge of two styles. I would rate it higher were it classified an IIPA in the aroma and flavor categories. It went well on a seasonably warm Memorial Day.

Didnt really get baklava but nice ipa otherwise

 

 

Poured a cloudy, yellow-orange body with large head and lace patches down the glass. The aroma is citric and soapy, but the nuttiness I was expecting in aroma is not there. Soapy, sudsy, dirty, bitter hoppiness with a dry and nutty backbite (so that's where they are). Interesting beer but not one that I would bother trying again.

 

Looks like every other NEIPA these days - kinda pineapple-orange juice-looking, opaque and all, with a coupla fingers of white foam... But the can says it's a double dry hopped "buckwheat baklava" IIPA featuring pistachios and almonds... I don't know what actual ingredients went into the beer, but it comes off really nicely... Fruitiness is mostly citrus, but with undertones more tropical, and a creamy lemony aspect... There is something of a honeyed sweetness to the fruits, as well as an earthier, heartier flavor and feel element which I'm willing to attribute to pistachio, almond and wheat... Medium-bodied, very smooth and soft, mild bitterness, moderate sweetness, ample carbonation... A real winner, and despite familiar trappings, manages to separate itself somewhat from the crowd...

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 4/2019. Pours opaquely hazy deep golden amber color with a 2 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn/pine, pistachio, almond, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops, nuts, and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn/pine, pistachio, almond, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Mild pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn/pine, pistachio, almond, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops, nuts, and bready malt flavors; with a solid malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and fairly sticky mouthfeel that is great. Slight lingering resins/rinds through the glass. Minimal warming alcohol for 8%. Overall this is an awesome flavored NEDIPA. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops, nuts, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; great soft feel. Feels like Galaxy, Citra, Mosaic. Extremely juicy and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a perfectly balanced wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example. Even with the experimental nut flavorings, it still just tastes like a regular NEIPA.