Smells Like Freedom
DC Brau Brewing Co.

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From:
DC Brau Brewing Co.
 
District of Columbia, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #309
ABV:
7%
Score:
92
Ranked #5,353
Avg:
4.14 | pDev: 9.66%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
105
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 12, 2022
Added:
Mar 14, 2015
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  19
Collaboration with Oskar Blues Brewery

Smells Like Freedom was first brewed in collaboration with Oskar Blues in 2015 after DC’s Initiative 71 was passed. The legislation, which went into effect on July 1st, 2017 after Congress attempted to block the popular vote, allows DC residents to grow 6 cannabis plants at home, possess up to 2 oz. of cannabis and legally gift up to 2 oz. of cannabis between consenting adults and also permits adults to legally smoke cannabis in their home. We are re-brewing Smells Like Freedom in part to shine a spotlight on the larger issue of the District of Columbia’s lack of effective home rule. For more than 200 years, DC residents have paid taxes to the Federal government, but they and their “local” government officials have no final say in how those funds are granted. That responsibility is allocated to Congress. DC Brau believes the District should be recognized as a state with its own budgetary autonomy; thus, the “VOTES SHOULD COUNT” tagline that appears on the top of each label of Smells Like Freedom.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.3 by Daniellobo from District of Columbia

May 12, 2022
Photo of MrOH
Reviewed by MrOH from Maryland

4.77/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Clear copper, dense off-white head, excellent retention, sticky rings of lace
Aromas of passionfruit, pine and dank, a little bit of caramel
Tastes like it smells, long resinous finish
Medium bodied and appropriately carbonated
Why aren't there more IPAs like this?
Apr 23, 2022
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.89/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Wotta day! I am gearing up for the opening of NBS 760 by delving into those brewery's CANs which were never (to date) included in NBS. If I am glossing over you, my apologies! There have been a number of memorable NBS horizontals & those which were not as memorable. Inna meantime …

From the CAN: "Votes Should Count".

I LOVE DC Brau not only 'cause they were one of the first, after Oskar Blues, to CANmit to CANning v. bottling, but also b/c my maternal aunt & uncle live dahn air. I have been visiting DC for as long as I CAN remember & it is always a wild time! I have started staying at hostels since their basement sets off my asthma, but if I had to, I CAN always crash at their place. I remember taking them to DC Brau shortly after it opened & they were a bit put off by the neighborhood. 8=) Ah, well.

I beCAN with a Crack! of the vent, followed by an absolutely slow, gentle C-Line Glug since a) I am feelin' today's imbibing & b) I CAN't feature cleaning up a mess. Man, did this one ever come off like a champ! I got two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with excellent retention for my efforts. Color was a gorgeous Deep-Amber/Light-Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity, causing me to think of the lovely Linda Lou.

She was a short-statured well-built redhead who looked like she could have been my (non-existent) older sister. She had the most wiry copper-colored hair evar & I woulda married her except that she was gun-shy, especially since I was 5 years younger. Gad, I miss her even today!

Nose smelled like a Czech/BoHo Pils with a grassy, hay-like hoppiness & a biscuity maltiness. 8=O In an AIPA?!? This, I CANnot wait to taste! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach. The taste was so great that I fell to my knees, beCAN a melded homage & wept unCANtrollably. My problem with EIPAs is that they are too sweet, despite being the origin of the style's inherent bitterness. CANversely, I have enCANtered some AIPAs that were so overly hopped that my nose hairs burnt out! This hit the sweet spot between the two styles, bringing a nutty, toasty maltiness to a citrusy, pine hop presence. 8=O

We have been doing random Qs at school with one of them being: "If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?" Most students (& adults) say "Pizza", but for me, it is salmon! I impressed my not-easily-impressed Couchsurfing hostess in mid-July with my CANstant eating of salmon. I even turned her onto CANdied salmon on a stick! And now, a PSA: "Ladies, looking for a heterosexual mate? Take him to supper & order salmon for two. If he digs in, you are home free! Think about it - pink, fleshy, fishy with a unique taste. If he will eat salmon, he is likely not to have any CANpunctions about eating at the 'Y'". Yer welcome.

Okay, how does that fit into this review? If I CAN only have one beer for the remainder of my life to acCANpony the salmon (& CANniligus), it would be this one!

I was really digging the way that it straddled the old skool Brit style & the now-outta CANtrol AmeriCAN style while remaining something that was sustainable. How many of my reviews have ended with "... one & done"? Not in this case! Finish was semi-dry to dry, but it would make an excellent acCANpaniment to almost any dish. YMMV.
Sep 15, 2019
 
Rated: 4.32 by Magilla60 from Pennsylvania

Jun 12, 2019
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Reviewed by Lucular from Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
5 oz pour on tap. Nice citrusy and slightly vegetal aroma and flavor although unfortunately the 7% abv comes through more than expected in a slightly harsh mouthfeel.
Jun 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Mleblanc25 from Massachusetts

Jun 01, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by Cpmitchno1 from Virginia

May 20, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by cjohns73 from Delaware

May 08, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by bigred89 from Maryland

May 06, 2019
 
Rated: 1.71 by carsonp from District of Columbia

Apr 26, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Whiskeydeez from Kansas

May 04, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by jdimento from Texas

Jan 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Mack from Canada (QC)

Sep 27, 2015
 
Rated: 3.04 by Boxerjay from Pennsylvania

Sep 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by CuriousMonk from District of Columbia

Aug 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.58 by zekeman17 from Pennsylvania

Aug 19, 2015
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Reviewed by jmasher85 from Maryland

3.93/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This was a delicious but disappointing failure of a beer. The idea here was that since hops and cannabis are cousins, the two breweries from "legalized" places would get together and make a dank-flavored IPA.
Well, they made a very tasty IPA, with a really lovely, fragrant mix of all the nice hop flavors you want in a good IPA - citrus, pine, a little sweet in front and a little bitter in back with a rich, chewy texture. Sadly, the cannabis flavor, which seems to have been the point of all this, was lost in the mix. Only while sucking the last few drips of beer from the can did I even detect a hint of dank. I was expecting this to taste like alcoholic, bubbly bong-water based on the hype, and was disappointed, not in this excellent beer, but in an underwhelming experiment.
Jul 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3.98 by cj8311 from Maryland

Jul 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.17 by InfragilisBrew from Illinois

Jun 15, 2015
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Reviewed by KYGunner from Kentucky

3.65/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This reminds of The Corruption as the hops are bitter and herbal with a resiny lupilin. I get some skunky cannabis, weed, floral notes and a light tea leaf malt. Quite vegatiative it goes on to deliver some garlic and chive.
Jun 05, 2015
Smells Like Freedom from DC Brau Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 105 ratings