The Correspondent
Relic Brewing Co.

A: crystal clear; pale gold in color; with a fairly aggressive pour, a 1 finger finely pored white head that receded to a thin collar; nice lacing;

S: predominantly grapefruit, with pineapple and orange in the background;

T: follows the nose from start to finish; mild to moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; light to moderate carbonation; dry finish;

O: not exciting, but the dry finish makes you want to come back for another sip;

 

 

These guys have made some seriously fun and enjoyable IPAs and DIPAs over the past few years, and it's always a blast to see a beer I haven't had from them show up in my local stores, so I picked up a single of The Correspondent to give it a shot. Innocent enough, right? This beer is unusual in that the brewery doesn't disclose the hops, but rather claims that it's an IPA with a "New Zealand and American hop blend." Thanks, that's not very helpful. But, I will say that sometimes I enjoy trying to figure out what's going on in stuff like this, and having a bit to go off is definitely better than going in blind. Let's try to figure it out...

Pours a moderately hazy (not opaque!) golden-orange color with a superbly-retentive head that leaves behind some utterly spectacular lacing and good legs, with a nice surface covering to boot. Hey, this is a pretty cool looking and unusually "non-NEIPA" offering from Relic. Lots of suspended particulate yeast and hop matter in the body, kinda bringing me back to those 2012 days or whatever. Seriously, though, the lace here is awesome. Maybe one of the better looking DIPAs I've had recently, and not just cuz it stands out from the pack by not being a hazeboi.

Now, the nose. I really don't know what's going on with Relic, but we should talk about how stale and plain their yeast seems to be. This is probably a pretty fresh beer (less than four weeks old by my estimation, since the bottom of the can has a broken packaging date, but it does seem to say 10/1X/XX), but I mostly get yeast esters from the nose. And perhaps you can blame this on my proclivity to enjoy DDH IPAs, but if you're not double dry-hopping in 2020, what are you even doing? There's some light caramel maltiness, kiwi, passion fruit, and bubble gum esters crossed with some very slight tangerine and anonymous citrus undertones. Overall, it really just doesn't inspire me.

Again, on the tongue, this just seems kind of boring. Some light bitterness and pithy citrus peel mingling with a hint of lime and mango plus a touch of bitter guava. Maybe I can even pull out a little Nelson-esque gooseberry or minerality if I really try to care, but... yeah, nothing about this is really inspiring me to look deeper into it, which is a big change from the Relic I lauded years ago. The feel is kinda heavy and oddly "lactose"-esque despite not having any of that ingredient in it. It seems they've been kinda phoning it in recently, or maybe my tastes have gotten more specific. Whatever it is, I don't think this is very great, and I also semi-negatively reviewed another fresh DIPA of theirs about a month ago, so perhaps it's time for me to consider this brewery unworthy... again. Sucks, but the dedication to (at least semi-)consistently being worse than they were years ago is hurting their prospects for me.

 

Poured from a tallboy can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Hazed dark golden pour with 2 fingers of fluffy white head. Great lacing.

S: Citrus and fruit.

T.F: Citrus forward hop profile... grapefruit and lime. Lighter melon and pineapple. Sweet up front with modest hop bitterness. Oily and sticky on the tongue. Medium bodied.

O: A solid NEIPA. Good flavor, and more lime notes in the hop profile than expected. Enjoyable brew.

 

 

16 oz can. 14 Day’s Fresh.

A: One thumb of thick off white head. The color is silky thick orange. Typical NEIPA appearance. Thin head retention with nice sticky lacing.

S: Melon. Stone fruit. A little sweet. Some pineapple. Overall a little weak.

T/M: Cool melon. Some juicy flavors. Pine. Oats. Creamy with enough carbonation bite to balance it out. Hop bitterness comes through slightly. On the sweeter side of things. Has a mostly clean aftertaste. Nice flavors but nothing really stands out.

O: A very good well made NEIPA. Yet nothing really stands out enough to make it great. Easy to drink.

Cheers!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

12oz can. Pours a super turbid pale orange with 2 inches of frothy white head. Lots of lacing. The aroma is pineapple and grapefruit with some peach, melon and bubblegum. Some pine and lemon as well. Sweet and fruity taste. Pineapple, lemon, grapefruit, bubblegum and peach. Piney hops more towards the end. Grapefruit and pine finish. Creamy mouthfeel. Dry. Some alcohol heat. Another great Imperial IPA from Relic.

 

Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz can poured into a snifter. The beer was purchased at the brewery.
The beer pours a slightly hazy goldenrod color with several streams of carbonation rising to the surface. A 2 cm dense spongey head foams up and fades to a sturdy surface layer and some tight lattice on the sides of the glass. The aroma is lots of pineapple and some pine sap mixing together for a nice complex nose. The first sip reveals an average body with very fine gentle rolling carbonation. The texture is smooth and easy drinking for a DIPA.
Flavor is pretty sweet and fruity with pineapple and and orange notes with just a bit of pine sap bite. The alcohol is completely hidden and the finish is kind of sweet after each sip.
A well crafted brew that is easy to drink for a bigger beer. Glad I got a chance to experience this beer and I would recommend it to others that enjoy DIPAs.