Digital Sea
Kane Brewing Company

Cream white head of average density, surface pocked by a multitude of larger bubbles, somewhat below average retention, thin if extended lacing. Translucent coppery liquid, not the "pureed" look homogenizing so many IPAs. Clean and crisp nose, salted pretzels, pepper, more grains, freshly leafy but not dank, direct apricot to peach scents, not getting anything overtly tropical, impressively breezy, good sense of movement. In the mouth it's medium-bodied and follows the same basic script by keeping it simple and straightforward. Mandarin orange to tangerine citrud much more obvious here, lends both sweetness and tang. The malt base smoothes out any rough patches, fluid progression with every sip. The fruit more melon based here, pear and apricot. Even less herbaceous than the nose and add in a general dryness and the finish is succinct with punctuation. Been awhile since I had an IPA that tasted like an IPA, minus the steroidal "look at me" syndrome. (Canned 7/28/21)

A: pours a hazy gold body with a white head with nice retention and lacing.
S: dank, grapefruit notes
T: sweet, alcohol dank grapefruit notes
M: medium bodied and smooth.
O: nice feel and taste combo; good beer overall.

 

 

**
12/21/2020

Can to snifter. (canned 12/04/20).

LOOK: pale yellow, touch of haze, foamy off white head, good retention
AROMA: pine, biscuit and citrus; in that order but pretty well balanced between the 3.
TASTE: touch of grapefruit, cracker or biscuit or bready malt, nothing too discernable. tasty.
FEEL: good carbonation, light to medium body. smooth.

A nice beer, though nothing special. No attributes or flavors stick out as outstanding, but no major flaws either. Just an enjoyable brew from a great brewery.

**

Traded for this fairly recently and was surprised to see that this was listed on here as being retired. Been a while since I reviewed a beer from Kane as I used to have their offerings all the time up at the Cloverleaf Tavern. As the other reviewer on here noted, this had a different feel to it was it was quite British in tone because of the malts used but this was a nice, balanced beer with plenty of flavor to it to hold my attention throughout my time with it!

Nice look to this beer as it poured like liquid brass with a nice, lasting luminosity to it. Enough head topped it off as it quietly settled but aside from some rocky, uneven bits of lacing near the top of my pint glass, nothing was left behind as I worked my way through this. Lots of wheat, oats, bread, dough, grass, and British bitterness in the nose as the taste followed suit to some extent. The grass stood out more in the taste along with tangy citrus, stone fruit pith, and a hint of deep forest as the hops both clashed with and complemented the malt at the same time. Cracked wheat and a hint of sweet caramel were in the mix too as the stickiness of the letter and the deep, minty and piney greenness from the hops emerged more in the aftertaste. Lots going on here as this was plenty chewy because of the dough and white bread that was present throughout my session.

Just the right amount of booze was in this as it was potent and noticeable but not overpowering or a distraction compared to everything else that I felt. The carbonation was light as it was must enough to keep this from feeling too sticky, heavy, or chewy. No date on the bottom of the can but this looked and tasted fresh as there wasn't any sediment at the bottom of the liquid when I finished this. Balanced, tasty, and oddly green, this was an IPA that felt like something from the old world while having enough traits to be taken as something from the new. Fans of Head High or Overhead will love this as it was on par with those but not quite like them. Kane took a gamble by brewing something different and it paid off - I would easy reach for another of these should I come across one!

 

 

 

Kane Digital Sea

Canned on 11/27 and released on 12/15

Commercial Description:

7.5% IPA brewed with a combination of British Marris Otter and American Two Row as the base, wheat, oats and a small amount of English Caramel Malt. It’s hopped with a small amount of buttering in the kettle, then dry-hopped twice during fermentation and once post fermentation with over 6lbs per barrel of Galaxy, Mosaic and Amarillo

Appearance: This beer is opaque and rather murky. Deep golden amber. An off white head that settles to a rocky ring around the edge of the glass, leaving a lot of lacing in its wake. Minute, scant bubbles working their way up alongside the glass. As a side note, I really enjoy these new Kane can designs. Started with Blue Hotel (I believe) and we have recently seen the design three times with themes of Blue, Green and Pink, along with the information strip on the side of the can. Kane has always done a nice job with mixing multiple types of fonts on its labels.

Smell: Orange and grapefruit pith citrus, over ripened, juicy mango, sweet pine. White bread and dough malt profile.

Taste: The prominent flavor profile for me is grapefruit citrus, pith, pine and green grassiness which brings bitterness to the forefront of the beer. These flavors are laid over more subtle tropical fruit including mango. Bitterness that finishes dry and crackery.

Mouthfeel: Very soft carbonation. Pretty light on the palate. Semi-dry.

Overall: This beer looks new school, but brings home the old school flavors intertwined with some tropical juicyness. I’m enjoying the beer. I put this is the West Coast IPA category due to the flavors and bitterness described above, but one could easily call this a hybrid West Coast / NEIPA. Very good stuff from Kane.