Rapskullion
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

 

Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co. "Rapskullion"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$4.49@ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: They've got some pretty sharp new graphics on this one with a comic book stylized motorcycle rider between a vulture and a snake. On the other hand, who really cares about the label as it's a double dry hopped hazy Imperial IPA @ 7.8% ABV! The body is a cloudy golden orange beneath a thumb's width of off-white foam. The aroma isn't that strong but that's quite often the case with double IPAs. It's citrusy and lightly piney. On to the taste then... it's malty, and very bready. I have no doubt that there's a decent amount of wheat in the grain bill. The second thing I get is a kind of woody, spicy, herbal, "dank"/resinous, piney, and earthy character. I was not expecting that, I thought it would be more citrusy. That's not to say that there's no citrus there, there is, but it's secondary to the woodiness with some other tropical fruit thrown in, mainly peach. It doesn't seem that bitter at all but maybe I'm not picking it up because of the rich, bready malt. It finishes pretty dry though with some alcohol, the aforementioned spiciness, a good deal of herbal character that includes mint, and some pine. I'm really surprised by this; where others have zigged they've zagged and I have to give them credit for that. Additionally it is a pretty unique flavor. Hmmm... I don't know what I'm really thinking here, but in a way this is kind of like a new style of barleywine. Maybe I should just say that it reminds me of a barleywine rather than an imperial IPA. Alright, enough of that, back to the beer itself. It's full bodied with a moderate carbonation that leaves it creamy-smooth. I'm about halfway through it now and it's kept a mostly solid surface covering, and the lacing is surprisingly good. There's a thin but pretty much solid sheet wrapped around the glass from where I started to where I'm at now. Nice. So what do I think of this overall? I like it but I'm not enthralled by it. It is very unique though, and I keep finding more in it. It's one of those beers that reveals itself fully over the course of the glass as it warms up so you kind of get multiple beers out of it. That's a good complexity. It makes a good sipping beer, and I can't get the barleywine comparison out of my head. For what I think of as an Imperial IPA it's off balance on the malty side but at the same time I appreciate that so... I don't know what to say. Just judging it hedonistically I think it's pretty damned good. I'll remember this beer for sure, and I'll definitely buy it again if I see it. It's an 'on occassion' beer but I have enough late night reading or just sitting on the back porch relaxinging nights that I could use a 4-pk or two. That's all I've got.
Review #8,124

 

4/21/21...pours hazy dark gold with touches of clingy white foam. Fresh citrus nose buried in a light malt. Gritty earthy bitter. Starts firm, fades fast. Thin mouthfeel. Residual mint. Clever.

Rapskullion from Neshaminy Creek Brewing. Purchased on 5 Aug 21 from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. $4.00 (Including tax) per 16 oz can ($0.250/oz). In the reefer at the store, stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 11/8/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 43.8 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 51.6 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Straw (SRM 3), hazy.
Body – Straw (SRM 3), opaque. When rear-lite, barely translucent.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive center pour), baby powder, high density, average retention, rapidly diminishing to a four to thirteen mm undulating crown and a rocky partial cap. Second pour produces a 0.7 cm head.
Lacing – Good. Wide regular band of tiny bubbles, having many short, blunt stalactites and connected to the next band by short columns.
Aroma – 3 – Weak pineapple and grapefruit, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 3 – Begins slightly bitter with very weak pineapple and grapefruit flavors. No malt. No yeast. No ethanol (7.8 % ABV, as marked on container) taste. No gastric warming initially, but it begins to gradually build. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, creamy, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) While this is well-made and ticks all the boxes of a hazy impy IPA, the flavor and aroma are just too weak to make choosing this IPA over anything else problematic. One and done.

No date which is a bit annoying in the modern age. This is a decent beer but not sure i'd seek it out again. good brewery with other more worthy options.
L: Drinking from the can. Fairly nice looking deal.
S: citrus, pineapple. bit of spice
T: taste has interesting elements but doesn't mesh for me. citrus, lemon, bitterness. the whole is less than the sum of the parts.
F: very smooth. carbonation is very light. could use more.
O: Not bad but not notable.

 

 

 

A - Dark, opaque orange, with a thick white creamy lacing ring.

S - Resiny citrus aroma with pineapple and some spicy fruit rind.

T - Some booziness, citrus, spicy citrus rind, and some lemon.

M - Big body with a smooth texture and creates dry gravely layer on the palate.

O - This beer has actually benefitted from sitting for a few weeks.

 

From a pint can into a clear Imperial pint mug it came. The liquid is dirty blond and there's a foamy white head that seemed to keep growing until it ran out of space. The lesson now learned is that is not necessarily a good sign. More often, it means the brew has been over starched with wheat and/or oats. As the head recedes, lacing is left on the inside of the mug. Is it just optimism, do the hops smell bitter? Well, there's a little more sharp bitterness to the taste than some in the new New England style. The finish breaks rather cleanly. The problem and here we go again is without a good malt backing, the mouthfeel is weak and a decent bite from the hops can't be fully appreciated. This brewery makes at least two wonderful Imperial IPAs, The Shape of Hops to Come and Blitzkrieg by name, so for this to fall into the new trend is disappointing.