Hill Country Murk
Track 7 Brewing Co.

 

Appearance - Pours super hazy and dull orange in color with an off-white, half finger width head. Sub-par retention, resulting in a thin, consistent layer of suds and a fair ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell - Huge tropical aroma; like orange juice with hints of papaya, pineapple and mango.

Taste - Juicy, but very mellow. Papaya with lesser notes of orange, mango and honeydew melon round out the base character. A hint of acidity in the finish, along with faint spice to go with the aforementioned juicy notes. Aftertaste lingers with a hint of pith bitterness and bready sweetness.

Mouthfeel - Medium-bodied with low-to-fair carbonation. Slick texture. Drinks easy enough.

Overall - Decent NE-Style IPA, but they make much better examples of the style than this. Just a bit too much on the mellow side for my tastes. I prefer more acidity and sharpness.

Canned 2/10/17, poured into pint glass.

Look: Light orange bleeding into yellow. Hazy, with a nice thin layer of lace that slowly fades throughout consuming.

Smell: Peach is the prominent aroma, with canned pineapple in the background.

Taste: Something funky, almost sour to it. I do taste the peach but not as much as its aroma.

Feel: Drinkable feel. Not too heavy. Carbonation does linger a bit on the tongue.

Overall: An interesting offering from Track 7. They've been putting out a steady line of NE-inspired IPAs recently, and of them, I would say this attempt is average to slightly above average. Solid beer, not great, but wouldn't turn it down.

Can from 02/10/17 into a tulip glass. Pours hazy/murky yellow orange with 2+ fingers of medium density head that had poor retention and left spiderweb lacing. Nose is heavy on peach and apricot, also something a little funky hiding in the background. I remember this similar feeling from the original Low Country Murk that was brewed with Modern Times and used Belgian yeast. I'd hoped the shift to a VT strain would have removed this, but guess the original hazy 'farmhouse' intent of the recipe persists beyond just a yeast change. Taste is more citrus prominence with the peach/apricot in tow, still subtle farmhouse attributes remain. Finishes with moderate astringency and a tiny bit of lingering bitterness. Mouthfeel is a bit tingly from the carbonation but the beer is almost silky and I'd put it light-moderate body. Going to age a few cans to see if this evolves with a few weeks on it. Not really my style of preference, so likely won't revisit.