Solar Winds
Smog City Brewing Co.

my first from these guys, modern and juicy and good, not overdone but robust without being green, very fresh, distinctive, and well done, nice first impression for me. looks right, real pale, the lightest orange tone to it, frothy white head from the tap, fairly dense haziness but also a lot of carbonation giving it a lift, not messy looking, rather alive. big citrus in the nose, citra hop type meyer lemon and orange zest, but also notes of aromatic yuzu and some clementine sweetness, starchy grain but on the dry side overall from the malt, light rawness to it, maybe unmalted wheat, deeply earthy, simple and right for these hops, some white wine and pear character too as it sits for a second and warms up, pungent and fruit first from these hops. a bit more tropical in the glass, somewhat thiol forward too, almost a little belgian ester for a second, but its all hop derived, candied lemon, chardonnay, lemongrass, green papaya, and a little floral honey too, nice slightly nutty but very pale and out of the way grain support, relatively clean ferment, this may have been hopped at high fermentation, it has that biotransformed essence about it. some oils on the palate heavy it slightly, but bright beer overall. fun hop profile on this, modern for sure, very low bitterness, quality hazy!

Solar Winds from Smog City Brewing. Received from @2beerdogs in a LIF. Reviewed 17/08/25 (Review 3564). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 46.9 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 57.5 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), hazy.
Body – Straw (SRM 3), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, glows straw, but no light passes directly through.
Head – Average (Maximum three cm, aggressive center pour). White, medium density, average retention, leaving a jagged 0.7 – 1.3 cm crown and a thin partial cap. Bits of the withdrawing head hang on the glass.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3 – Barely noticeable spiciness. No malt, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4 – Begins mildly bitter with slight citrus spiciness and just a touch of wood. No alcohol (6.4 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. A bit of melon appears on the aftertaste. No gastric warming.
Palate – 3 – Medium: Almost creamy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Generally, follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 (After subtracting 0.25 point for an undated can.) Uncredited label artist. To my nose and taste buds, this is rather innocuous. Other than the ABV (6.4%), this could easily become a session or lawnmower beer.