Space Reaper
DC Brau Brewing Co.

Appearance: A bubble show delivers two fingers of foam over the relatively clear golden liquid; excellent retention and splashy lacing

Smell: The biscuity malt tones dominate though there is melon in the mix as well as some dank and herbal hop elements

Taste: Biscuit flavors forward with sweet melon flavors and herbal tones developing; piney in the back end, but the sweeter malts persist

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Somewhat disappointing as the malt profile really dominates here and the hops seem out of balance

 

Can dated 12/18:
Mostly clear golden body with the lightest haze producing a more matte finish than a crystal clear beer would. Over a finger of head with strong lacing. Malt backbone with a fruity edge - something along the lines peach, melon, and strawberry. There's initially a light herbal to resinous accent to the mostly fruity nose; a slight onion/catty note hits my nostrils as it warms.

Taste starts out a bit sweet, with a honey biscuit malt leading the way. The melon and strawberry join early, with some lighter tropical notes of papaya and even something resembling unsweetened coconut flesh. Backing this is a herbal, near piney bitterness that joins but does not eliminate the opening sweeter notes. Like the nose, it turns a little more onion/garlicky as the beer warms.

Ends up with a pretty nice balance, though I think it could be either a little more bitter or less malty sweet.

16 oz. can poured into a Sam Adams glass. 9.2 ABV & 100 IBU. Space Reaper incorporates Mosaic hop with Canadian 2-row, Cara-Pils, C-60, Wheat malts, and dextrose.

There’s enough of a malt backbone to support the immense hop presence. The brew hits all the notes that one would expect from a huge DIPA with a complex aromatic array of mango, citrus, berry and tropical fruit with an agreeable herbal and light cedar note to round it out. First sip communicates a large, refreshing dose of hop bitterness followed up by a light, malty, sticky, resinous, cedar-like finish with hints of stone fruit and Guava.

 

Pours an IPA light orange, aroma is floral, piney, really resinny, taste is heavy, slight citrus alot of pine and a touch of malt. It tastes like a 9.0%. But I really like it. Great job. P.S. Cool can.

 

16 oz can poured into a Pilsner glass.

Appearance
Golden blonde. Good clarity. Slight chill haze.

Nose
Passion fruit, peach rings, wintergreen, dank, pine, and candy sugar.

Taste
Big green dankness, pine resin, and wintergreen. Both earthy and floral. Light touches of peach and passion fruit. Light candy sugar and honey maltiness.

Mouthfeel
Medium-light bodied, crisp, smooth, dry, and moderately bitter.

Overall
A welcome return to the Old School IPA. Very resinous and moderately bitter. Easy drinking for the abv.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look -- Dark Orange
Smell -- Sweet smelling reminds me of Bells Mars IPA
Taste -- Taste doesn't necessarily follow smell, sweet tasting
Feel -- medium body
Overall -- Its an ok DIPA, I really dig the can, the smell again reminds me of Bells Mars IPA but the taste isn't good

LOVE the art on the can. ENJOY the soft mouthfeel and round sweet pillow upon which the hops are borne. LIKE how the ABV is nestled into the drink. but OVERALL agree with others that it's good but not top-tier. It doesn't offend but it doesn't mind-bend either. A must-try for all DMV area people (and collect that CAN!) but don't try to house a few in one sitting. You will get space reaped for sure.

PS i DIG the way the carbonation holds throughout drinking and bears the hops up. pairs well with chip n salsa. CHEERS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canned date of 06/09/16

Appearance - Pours slightly hazy and orange in color. Finger width, off-white head that displays fair retention before it dissipates to a thin, broken layer of suds. Quite a bit of sediment floating around. Not much for lacing aside from a few small spots.

Smell - Orange and caramel make up the bulk of the nose. Hints of floral character and a touch of booze.

Taste - A balanced attack. Notes of orange pith, floral and earthy hops met by caramel and bready, slightly toasted malts that flatten out by mid-taste. Aftertaste is light caramel sweetness and even less ring of citrus character.

Mouthfeel - On the fuller side of medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. Slick texture leads to a smooth, drinkable quality with a semi-dry finish.

Overall - Just a hair outside the ideal freshness date, but not so old that the hops are diminished to the point of ruination. Would I like to try this fresher? Yes, but from what I've had here I wouldn't go out of my way for it. Good beer overall, but it doesn't capture the taste buds quite like the best DIPAs do.

A: This poured a cloudy gold with sediment and some white head.
S: It smelled like fresh oranges, with some pineapple and dried mango and candied apricots.
T: It tasted like oranges and grapefruit, with some sweet mango and pineapple and honey malt. It had a clean bittersweet aftertaste.
M: It was oily with moderate carbonation. Nice slick body.
D: This was a nice IPA, with very sweet tropical scent and taste. Wish it was more balanced with added bitterness. The body was ok, and the finish was smooth with fairly well hidden alcohol, so it was pretty easy to drink. Not top tier, but still quite enjoyable.

Thanks to SadMachine for dropping this extra on me recently - DC Brau & barred owls are always welcome here. 12 oz. Heinlein-inspired can.

The pour is filtered orange. Nose is crackers, sharp hops, lemon.

Space Reaper is malty. This one has a malt backbone bigger than a T-Rex What hops there are fall into the dank, swampy, dull category. Peat, muck, super mild bitterness, caramel. Pawned half off on my wife, who seems to be enjoying it more than I am.

Not my ideal IPA profile, nor, really, in my top 242. Give me hops or give me a stout! Not even mediocre.

 

 

 

 

 

With a moderate beige head dying to a thin film with a clingy ring, the beer is an almost opaque amber, with tons of suspended yeast particles floating about. You can spin the glass a half turn and make it look like Saturn, which in and of itself is kind of beautiful, but, for beer, off-putting.

I smell whole wheat and oat bagel first. Weird. Then buttery toffee, grapefruit, and soft cheddar.

Taste is big time pine resin, caramel, and grapefruit.

Feel is very pillowy and creamy, yet it's still super dry and pretty bitter, but not a tongue thrasher.