Blanc XXXMas
Bunker Brewing Co.

Poured into a tulip glass, has a nice golden, light tangerine color with a thin layer of sudsy head. I get grapefruit, some guava, and earthy grass in the nose. I'm not picking up an overwhelming whiff of alcohol. The taste is grapefruit citrus with some stone fruit, and a dank finish that gives a bit of bitterness to balance the sweetness. I taste no alcohol, and I find it very smooth especially for the ABV. Dangerous, enjoyable, a great beer to kick off the evening. This is the second out of the 4-pack, and it's been about 4 weeks since it was canned, so perhaps the alcohol mellows with a little time in the can.

As someone who was pretty into this small brewery's "Blanc!" IPA, I was excited to see that my local craft beer store got in a shipment of this, their triple IPA with (I assume) Hallertau Blanc hops. Clever name and cool packaging sealed got me in, and the thought of a big sipper of an IPA sealed the deal. Let's see how this is...

Pours a deep orange color with zero clarity and a bone-white head of micro-bubbles that leaves behind some tiered lace. The hue here is really nice, and it definitely has a New England-esque pedigree to it in terms of haze, but I don't find the pour to be overly great looking. The head just doesn't build up super well, and the quickly dissipating foam doesn't inspire too much confidence. Hopefully there's something great underneath here.

Very explosive initial scent; lively and full of orange and tangerine pulpiness with a heaping helping of sugared grapefruit and bitter, herbal, leafy hop oils. Pretty awesome first impression! There's some funky pine-like notes and maybe even some spruce among the citrusy backdrop, along with a light touch of malt in there (maybe even some nutty wheat?). All this being said, however, I do have to point out that there's a pretty sizable whiff of ethanol in this one. Hoping it's not as apparent on the palate as the nose leads me to believe. I know this is a strong beer, but it's under 10%, which is my personal "starting point" for what I'd consider "triple IPA" ABV range... I've had stronger TIPAs that didn't smell this hot, so I know it can be done.

Yow! That is, unfortunately, SUPER hot. Thick ethanol on the tongue, shocking my senses and really making me feel it right off the bat. Luckily, there is a good hop load to balance this slightly, but I do have to take off points for not even trying to allay my fear. Flavors of cantaloupe, tangerine, fresh-cut grass, pine, dankness and orange pulp with a bit of grapefruit and guava in there... really solid hop flavors, but there's no reason for this to be so heady. I mean, I guess it kinda works as a "sipper IPA" to warm you up for the holidays, so maybe I can cut them a bit of slack there, but... man, this thing is a bruiser.

Feel is definitely on the heavy side as well, but it has some moderate oiliness and a slick, tongue-coating element that works well enough with the intense hops. Low-ish carbonation with solid bitterness lasting for a while after each sip. I just wish this weren't so hot... definitely hurts my enjoyment of it. Worth a shot, but wouldn't bother revisiting. Recommended if you like your big IPAs fruity and strong. Kind of like a citrusy-leaning version of Revolution's 1ZENUFF or something.