Albatross
Core Brewing & Distilling Co.

 

Pours an opaque, slightly murky, burnt-orange with three or more fingers of off-white, pillow-like foam on top. It has the head formation of a world class saison, which is to say quick, decadent, and massive with great retention, although in an IPA that's a little off putting. Aroma is resin and dank hop syrup blended with tangerine, mango, and clementines. While it may look the New England IPA part and still contain heavy tropical fruit notes, the resin and dank hops tone it down towards the regular IPA territory. Flavor profile is dense notes of tropical fruits - mango, tangerine, clementines, and papaya - mingled and mashed with resin, dank, and pine hops. Good depth and presence of the hop flavor profile. Malts are hidden behind the velvety hop curtain, but hit notes of biscuit and bread. Mouth feel is effervescent, bringing about a more bubbly feel, as the head formation would suggest. It has a medium thickness. Overall, a fair New England IPA. Good balance without cutting straight for the juicy bullseye.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz can. Took three easy pours to get all 12 ounces out of the can and into the glass.

Canned offering pours a hazed amber with 2 fingers of rocky pearl colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Some citrus, some breadyness, fades quickly

T: Sourish orange juice, dryness, a little grapefruit up front. Orange peels, dryness, a little grapefruit as this warms. Finishes with orange peel bitterness & slight bready dryness

MF: Medium body, firm carbonation, good balance at first then tacks bitter

Drinks pretty, just doesn't delivery flavor or juicyness like I hoped it would. Would not pay $ 14.25 for sixer ( or was it a 4 pack? ). Still way better than most of Core's line up

Great example of an East Coast IPA. So juicy! Aromatic with tons of grapefruit up front with some lingering malt for balance waiting at the back door. Core brews up another winner.

 

Look - Poured from a 64-oz growler. It pours a very hazy, tan color.

Smell - The smell is very citrusy; mostly orange and grapefruit.

Taste - Fresh, crisp IPA taste. Has a very orange peel-y taste with hints of grapefruit.

Feel - Very thick, full mouth feel which may be more of a mental thing for me because of how hazy the beer pours, but it does cause the beer to "sit heavier" in the mouth.

Overall - I like the flavor. It's not the hoppiest IPA, but the citrus-y flavor still comes through. Pouring out of a 64-oz (unshared) growler leads to diminshed tastes and feelings about a beer by the end of the growler. However, fresh out of the growler it is a bold, crisp IPA with plenty of citrus aromas and tastes (mostly grapefruit and orange).

Poured from a growler. The beer pours a very hazy and opaque amber/tan. It looks like apple cider. There is a two-finger, white head that's very thick.

The smell is bursting with citrus hops. There is a ton of grapefruit up front along with orange and a little bit of bitter pine underneath.

The taste follows with lots of grapefruit, grapefruit and orange peel, with a slightly bitter, lingering finish.

The mouthfeel is thick and smooth with medium carbonation.

Overall this is a great example of the NEIPA style and win for Core and Arkansas beer.