Sure Bet
Pipeworks Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

When you open the can, a wonderful sweet nose immediately. The sweetness continues throughout the flavor, a combination of citrus, sweet and hoppiness.

Sure Bet from Pipeworks. Purchased 11/13/20 for $6 (Including tax) for 16 oz can ($ 0.375/oz) from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. Reviewed 12/20/20.
Marked on bottom rim of can “08/28/20”. In reefer at store and stored at home at 42 degrees. Served at 45 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 55.9 degrees.
Appearance – 4.25.
First pour – Straw (SRM 3), clear.
Body – Pale gold (SRM 4), opaque. When held to direct light, translucent with a haze noted.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.2 cm, aggressive center pour), ivory, high density, average retention, leaving an eight to eleven mm undulating crown fed by effervescence, some scattered foam islands on the glass as the head collapses, and a thin complete cap with rocky islands. Second pour produces a 0.2 cm head.
Lacing – Excellent! Wide bands of near-microscopic bubbles with a few small thrown in. See also above.
Aroma – 3 – Weak honey and lemon, no mango, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 3 – Weak malt, no hops, no yeast, no mango, no honey. A bit bitter. No alcohol (9.5% ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Weak gastric warming eventually occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25. Leaves an oily mouthfeel and nasty aftertaste. Still no mango.

 

 

 

 

Clear yellow.
Ok white head.
Very good retention.

AROMA: tropical fruit. Lemon, grass, rain,

TASTE: honey and citrus are a nice mix. Rice and cracker backbone. Little tropical finish. Liking more as I go (as it warms).

FEEL: smooth,

Decent head production and retention. Crystal clear golden body. Nice lacing.

Juicy and dank nose; a touch onion-y. A bit of a throwback, reminiscent of Enjoy By. Mango, kiwi, papaya, melon, mandarin orange.

The mango puree presents sharper on the palate than the nose, where it's mostly lost among the hops. Not as sweet as you might fear given the honey and mango puree; fairly dank kiss on the finish. Similar flavor profile, favoring tropical fruit.

Lively; a touch oily; very smooth for such a high ABV IIPA.

Looks like beer; not quite 2001 Space Odyssey but not bad. Smell, full disclosure I have seasonal allergies so whatever doesn't make me sneeze makes me happy. The honey was strongest. Taste is well balanced IIPA. Not much alcohol. Malt-forward, honey, though I don't get much mango. Feel was more oily than I like. Overall, 3.5 because for $5/can I've had better.

Canned 3 weeks ago.

L -- Copper-hued body with near total clarity and two fingers of solid white head produced with moderate pour. Great retention and lacing
S -- Something really weird is going on here. It smells like a dirty baby wipe. I think it might be the mango. This is, like, really wretched smelling....
T -- Definitely redeems itself somewhat on this front. The mango character is still weird -- slightly sour but only somewhat prevalent -- along with some citric and herbal hop character and a fairly light malt backbone
F -- Medium mouthfeel, medium carb. It feels fine in the mouth, it's just the aromas are sooooo weird
O -- Good grief, what an all-over-the-place beer. It might just be the damage it takes making its way through the distribution chain from Chicago to Boston, but this is the second highly-rated Pipeworks offering I've been quite let down by, after Emerald Grouper. In both cases, they had these incredibly strange aromas that unfortunately impacted the flavors as well

< 60/100

 

 

 

 

16oz can, date stamped 01/03/20. A frothy ivory head caps a somewhat hazy tangerine colored DIPA. Big juicy aroma at the crack of the can. Closer inspection reveals orangey citrus, mango, and light caramel malt. Full flavored, bittersweet flavors of mango, Mandarin orange, grapefruit, honey, and caramel. Full body, excellently carbonated, sticky sweetness with some resinous bitterness. World class and worth the hype that surrounds it.