Afterthought After Afterthought
Tired Hands Brewing Company

 

 

Huge props to my buddy Jay for hooking up this can and others, ninja style. Cheers!

In honor of Jay, poured into a mutually exclusive Modern Times giant tulip glass, Afterthought After Afterthought pours straight up cardboard orangey brown with a slight reddish hue. Opacity is anything but the enemy of this mass, and the foam it wears as a hat is just insane! The off white froth spackles every square inch of the glass it touches.

Taking in big whifs, this beer transports you straight into the brewhouse. Everything from the freshly opened bag of exotic hops exploding with mango, passion fruit and pine, to burnt rubber and an indistinguishable vegetal aroma, then stainless steel, and house yeast filling the air. It's quite an incredible aroma. Something strange here...

Whoa. I've never tasted anything like this. I'm going to need a minute.

Aha. After reading the description, it all makes sense. No doubt about the watermelon and tea. Lime is unnoticed to my pathetic palate, but the honey is also well received in the form of less-than-burnt sugar. This is seriously one of a kind flavor.

Each segment of this beer makes more and more sense. It's creamy and sticky, obviously victim of the wildflower honey. It's smooth, fruity, and juicy beyond belief. It has a warming alcohol that is perfectly appropriate. Full bodied, soft carbonation...

I don't know what to say. This is definitely a one of a kind beer. The label makes so much sense now, too! This beer pushes the boundaries. It's quite good, but for the first time in my life I'm thinking this is not "beer". Did Tired Hands actually create a new beverage category with this one? If not, no time like the present to copyright one.

Cheers!

(I had to rate this as something rediculously unique. It's not a friggin IPA. Hell, it might not even be a beer! But it is so well executed and truly captures the ingredients and the intent (as far as I'm concerned) to not be acknowledged for such efforts.)

Absolutely murky dark orange body. Excellent head production, with a firm, off-white cap of several fingers. Equally impressive retention and lacing.

Herbal and leafy, with tea and citrus (perhaps from the lime zest, but equally plausibly from the hops). While the hops are bright and forward, they don't impart a ton of individual tones, instead crafting an overall mosaic of citrus, tropical, pine, and herbal notes all blended together.

Immediate hoppy bite up front, with a mouth-filling malty presence as well. Full bodied and creamy. Before leafy green hop notes can even fade, the tea and watermelon come out to play, accented with lime zest. Huge watermelon finish, dancing back and forth with the tea, neither taking the forefront for long. It's a bizarre experience, and truly unlike any other combination I've had in a beer.

Poured from a tallboy can into a Dogfish Head tulip. Cool can artwork

L: Hazed golden pour with big foamy white head. Great retention and lacing.

S: Sweet and fruity. Watermelon, citrus hops, honey, and love.

T.F: Damn is there a lot going on here. Honey sweetness and watermelon up front. Citrus and lime... herbal tea and blood orange. Grapefruit, pineapple, and peppercorns. Modest bitterness but tends towards sweet. Medium bodied and sticky/oily on the tongue. More fruit, watermelon, and citrus at the finish.

O: A fabulous big triple IPA. Great mix of flavors that really work well together. Tired Hands nailed this one.