Anniversary Ale 7.0
Cape May Brewing Company

Welcome back to Happy New "CAN We Visit the Cape & Drink Some Beer, Aunt May?!?" Sunday (Week 751)! The CANQuest (tm) will be in high gear today as a result. Hang tight!

From the CAN: "Double India Pale Ale"; "Unadulterated Hop Bliss': "Dripping With Lush Hops"; "Seven Hops For Seven Years"; "New Jersey Proud"; "Best Paired With [anniversary cake; party favors; party hats]"; "Care for the Cape"; "Profile: A blend of seven of our absolute favorite hops come together at a rate of seven pounds-per-barrel to create a beautiful hop nirvana, blasting you in the face with a tidal wave of tropical and citrusy aromas. Layered throughout this celebratory feast of sexy hops, our Anniversary Ale 7.0 is dripping with notes of passionfruit, guava, and mangoes."; "Crafted on the Cape"; "Unfiltered Keep Cold".

I did some in-CAN agitation before Crack!ing open the vent since it was clearly marked as "Unfiltered" & I wanted anything that may have flocculated back in suspension. Following the Crack!, I went with an inverted C-Line Glug to CANtinue to ensure that things were in suspension. This time, it really worked & I got two-plus fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, tawny head for my efforts. Color was a cloudy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose was pungent with tropical hops! Phew. It smelled like all of the usual suspects had been invited to the party & showed up! Mouthfeel was medium, a little on the thin side for the style. The taste was a riotous CANlamity of flavors that actually made me smile, giggle & then laugh! It was as though the hops were rolling over one another like puppies in an attempt to be the first to greet me. Tropical, then pine, then tropical, then citrus, then pine, then tropical … Wow! If this was how they celebrated their 7.0 Anniversary, I am hopeful of finding some 8.0! This was a hophead's dream come true. Admittedly, I had a tough time parsing one from another, but as a mélange, it was nice & hoppy bitter. Finish was super dry, very bitter & extremely satisfying!

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 16oz can. Hazy and orangey; it's opaque but not super-murky. Head retention and lacing are both good. Fresh-cut orange aroma. A fair amount of orange zest comes through, as does some mango and papaya and/or guava. What's there is great, it's just not super-aromatic.

In terms of ABV, this kind of straddles the line between single and double IPA, and the flavor profile reflects that. It's on the dry side -- an initial flash of sweetness quickly subsides. Juicy at first, finishing with bitter citrus rind and pith. Having just reviewed Bounding Main (very similar NEIPA from Cape May), this is a very similar, though more bitter, especially on the finish. Even the mouthfeel is similar: slick and smooth but not necessarily creamy or pillowy-soft.

Again, as with Bounding Main, this is a really good NEIPA from Cape May. It's not quite the juice bomb I'd hoped for, but it's a worthy anniversary beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up a 4-pack from Clayton Liquors. Taste is exactly as advertised with notes of guava, passionfruit, and citrus. Very drinkable despite hovering near 8%. A tasty but otherwise unexceptional beer.