Cosmic Cabbage
Monday Night Brewing

I was told by a bartender at the awesome new Monday Night taproom in Nashville that if I love Space Lettuce (which I do), be on the lookout for Cosmic Cabbage. Great recommendation, as there are some wonderful similarities to Space Lettuce with some meaningful departures.

Beautiful light copper-gold body with a lovely glow. Poured a little too full and a lot too cold where I sampled it, so hard to give it a controlled review on looks. Opaque body but not what I would really call hazy by the new school definition. Lots of carbonation, minimal head (though a little creamy cap can be created through some concerted swirling of the glass), but some decent sticky, spotty lacing.

Wonderful and layered nose. Big blast of weedy greens and green onion up front, which I love when it’s backed by bright citrus and tropical notes. And this one has that in spades, especially on the citrusy side. Add some mango, musty green grape, grapefruit, a little pine resin, and some green tea, but the weediness never dissipates. Comes together very uniquely and wonderfully.

With Space Lettuce the taste can’t quite keep up with the nose, which is a common problem for big IIPAs made with a lot of different hops. But here the two are really in sync, with that weediness and citrus really working well together. It’s a dryer beer than I expected (given size and relation to Space Lettuce), which makes it dangerously drinkable. Nice pith and bitterness late. Weedy greens throughout that never turn starchy or overly sharp. Again, crazy easy drinking for 9% with no sign of booze. Nice combination to West Coast and East Coast IPA influences overall.

Feel is on point for a IIPA. Soft, velvety, medium-bodied with a nice carbonation bite.

Full disclosure: as this beer warms up, it does get a little boozy, but nothing out of line with the ABV. But that is balanced out by a nose and taste that actually gets enhanced, with more pith, bitterness, sweetness, and resin, all consistently balanced out by the weedy greens. Really awesome beer.

A very solid NE IPA. Considering the abv, it would be a good candidate for an Imperial NE IPA style!!!! Poured from a 16 oz. can into a pint glass, this beer featured a slightly hazy gold color and a big frothy white head. Head retention was excellent and there were thick bands of frothy lacing on the glass. Aroma and taste were more robust than the typical NE IPA. A strong biscuity malt backbone is complimented by more hops bitterness than you usually find in a NE IPA. The grapefruit and tropical fruit aspects were what you would expect in a good NE IPA. Mouthfeel was crisp, rich and nicely bitter. This one is a winner!!!!