Jutsu 3.0
Bellwoods Brewery

 

 

Bottle from Brewery: Around 4-5 days old. Served in makeshift glassware- large red wine goblet

Appearance is a pale orange-ish. Could be described as apricot or saffron in colour.
Clearly unfiltered, minimal white head without much lacing present.

Aroma feels quite Galaxy heavy for me. I get papaya and slight notes of honeydew as described by the brewers. Malt character is not prominent, as the intent was to showcase a drier example of the style. Tastes of passionfruit, melon and papaya.

Medium body, moderate carbonation with dry finish. There is some chewiness to the body that adds some depth. Graininess is also present, and some residual stickiness on the palate is also apparent. Presence of Citra apparent in the taste, there is a citrus burst as the beer warms. There is some resin and hop oil that persists on the finish.

As others have pointed out, this mirrors New England and Vermont in approach, from the colouration, soft mouthfeel, dryness, low bitterness, essentially quite subdued but with great of depth of flavour.

Bottle from the brewery. A hair under two weeks old. Served in a Volo Zwanze Day tulip.

A - Pours with a generous white foam that settles to a partial cap, thick collar, and specks of lace. Hazy apricot-straw body.

S - The aroma feels Galaxy heavy, with tropical fruits and vegetal leafiness. There's some peripheral citrus, but I wouldn't have guessed Citra without reading the description. Malt character is understated and crackery. A tad understated but quite nice.

T - Taste actually dials up the intensity. Lots of juicy tropical and citrus fruits, with a crackery malt backdrop. I really like the balance here, and this beer manages to avoid the aspirin-like astringency found in a lot of Galaxy-hopped beers.

M - Medium body, with soft, pleasant carbonation. Texture is a bit grainy, with lingering hop oils and resins persisting through the finish. A bit chewy and sticky, with minimal alcohol presence.

D - This is the first beer I've had from the Jutsu lineup and I like it quite a bit. This is very Vermont-esque in the low bitterness, pale color, and neutral malt backdrop. This would make a really good six-pack beer...if Bellwoods ever decides to make six-packs that is.

 

bottle from the brewery. Very similar to the others from the series. Orange and smooth above average mouthfeel. Very decent hoppy drinkable beer.

 

A: Opaque dull light orange, unfiltered. Head dissipates quickly to a few millimetres. Minimal lacing.

S: Mild piney notes with tropical fruits.

T: Citrus, mild pine. Moderate sweetness. Bitterness on point. I detect no melon as described by the brewer.

F: Medium body, Slight creaminess with medium carbonation. Dry on the finish

O: Like versions 1 and 2, version 3 is a solid enjoyable Pale Ale. While I think I prefer V. 2, I think V. 3 might have broader appeal.

Nice opaque orange colour. This is another very nice beer in a very solid series of beers. Lots of fruit flavours- tropical mainly, but a nice dose of citrus as well. This version is hopped with Citra and Galaxy. While the former is more obvious, the bright intensity of the citra is softened a bit by the more subtle Galaxy. A pleasant bitterness at finish, but with a malt sweetness that really balances it out. Very soft feeling beer- great mouthfeel, a real pleasure to drink. Again, hard to compare across time, but I might this one slightly behind 1.0 and just ahead of 2.0. Or maybe it's the best! Hard to call.