Shape of Haze to Come - Key Lime
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

2023-04-29
16oz can served in a WABL sample glass. No date on the can. Got it from @ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17.

Hazy amber-yellow, very little head. Definitely has a key lime aroma (though not totally sure I would name it that if it wasn’t on the label). There’s a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla to go along with it.

…wow. That first sip was an experience. Creamy sweetness, lime skin bitterness, some kind of coconut note, with a none-too-gentle slap of cinnamon. Subsequent sips are more of the same, but not so jarring since I know what to expect. Citrus rind bitterness is pretty prevalent.

Pretty creamy texture. I can definitely enjoy this beer despite my sensitivity to cinnamon in beer, but I would absolutely enjoy it more without the cinnamon (or if it was turned down by like 90% or so).

 

Key Lime Shape of Haze to Come from Neshaminy Creek Brewing. 16 oz can. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA on 09/02/23 for $ 4.50 (Including tax) - $ 0.282/oz. In reefer at store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 11/02/23 (Review 3037). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated Can. Served at 38.3 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 47.9 degrees.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), hazy.
Body – Pale Gold (SRM 4), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, bright gold and glowing.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.2 cm, aggressive center pour), floral white, high density with a rocky top, quickly receding to a 1.0 cm crown fed by carbonation, and a rocky partial cap.
Lacing – Fair. Band of tiny to small bubbles with short, stout stalactites and many islands of bubbles above the band hanging on the side of the glass.
Aroma – 3.75 – Weak citrus. No cinnamon or vanilla. No hops, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 4 – Begins lightly tart with weak lime and just a hint of cinnamon. No vanilla but I usually can’t taste vanilla unless the concentration is very high. No malt, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (8.8 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. No gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, edging into creamy realms, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated container) Refreshing. For me, lime is always good although Key limes seem weak in terms of lime-ness. Cinnamon is my favorite spice, but here it is weak – stronger would have been better. For an Impy IPA, the hops (Double Dry Hopped!) seem weak – little hop goodness here. While this is a passable hazy IPA, it’s kind of wimpy for an Impy.

Rereview 17/04/23 Possibly a fresher can

Shape of Haze to Come Key Lime from Neshaminy Creek, 16 fl oz can from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, for $4.50 (Including tax), $ 0.282/fl oz. Purchased 13/04/23. In reefer at store. Reviewed 17/04/23 (Review 3076). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 56.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 58.1 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.5
First pour – Straw (SRM 3), hazy.
Body – Pale Gold (SRM 4), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, allows light penetration and still pale gold.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.7 cm, aggressive center pour), baby powder white, high density and meringue-like with surface rocks, good retention, leaving a complete 1.3 – 1.5 cm crown, and a rocky, complete cap.
Lacing – Excellent! Three-dimensional bands of tiny bubbles and archipelagoes of tiny islands
Aroma – 4.25 – Fresh and citrusy, limey but weaker, like key limes (duh); no yeast, no malt, no hops. No ethanol (8.8 % ABV as marked on the label) aroma.
Flavor – 4 – Follows the nose, moderately bitter and citrusy. No hops, malt, yeast, or ethanol. None of the advertised vanilla. A hint of cinnamon on the back end. No gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.75 – Medium; on the watery side of syrupy; tickling carbonation. The lactose adds a bit of thickening and smoothness to the mouthfeel.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) The head retention alone is enough to raise the appearance by 0.25 point. Add to that the meringue-like quality and the appearance is exceptional for a DDH IPA. The lime dominates the aroma, a good thing! While the flavor is less lime-like than the nose, the cinnamon does put in an appearance in the aftertaste. The lactose contributes to the body but isn’t noticeable in the taste or aroma. Overall, a good and highly drinkable DDH Impy IPA.

i like this outfit, and i like this beer. definitely close to the edge of too sweet but it works for me. the key lime flavor is shockingly close to the real thing. these guys don't date the can, i think, but they are local for me, and this just appeared on the shelf so i think it's pretty fresh.
L: from the can and the can is just groovy
S; very nice. lots going on. lot of sweetness, sweet lime, spice, pepper. very inviting
T: delivers. sweet key lime taste is really striking. nearly over sweet i'll say but still a win. little bit of hop bitterness on the end but just a touch.
F: smooth, medium body. light carbonation. darn good
O: it's a winner for these guys. hard to believe it's related to the west coasty, in your face Shape of Hops to Come but hey, why not. lots of styles out there to enjoy.

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $4.50. No canned on date, however I recall that there were 4-packs of this in the fridge with stickers on the 4-pack holders that said 33722 or 33922. Those Julian dates corresponds to December 3 or December 5, so this beer is being consumed at approximately three weeks old.

Look: Pours a moderately hazy golden orange color. There is a very thin, whispy head.

Smell: Tons of citrus up front - some lime and a lot of orange/mango that is likely coming from Citra hops. The nose is also a bit peppery/spicy. There's a bit of a sweet graham crackery vibe coming through on the finish along with some acidic key lime. I can kind of pick up on some lactose and cinnamon, but then again I am biased with my knowledge of the ingredients. It smells interesting.

Taste: It's kind of weird that this really does almost taste like a key lime pie in beer form. At times, this beer tastes overly sweet and other times it is like a beer limeade and other times it tastes very hoppy and bitter. It's very hard to believe that this beer is 8.8% ABV. As I mentioned below, it drinks a bit like a shandy which are typically pretty low in ABV.

Feel: It's medium bodied with a mouthfeel that is reminiscent of a shandy (except that this one is beer + lime juice/lactose/vanilla/cinnamon).

Overall: This is an interesting beer and it's certainly worth a try. Personally, I prefer the original Shape of Hops to Come West-Coast style Imperial IPA. What is most remarkable about this beer is that it is 8.8% ABV and drinks like a 5% summer shandy.

From the website:
Double Dry Hopped
The Shape of Haze Series
Imperial India Pale Ale
Unfiltered double IPA double-dryhopped with Citra and Mosaic conditioned on Key Lime, Cinnamon, and Vanilla.

26 IBUs
Available October