Joy Delivery System
HenHouse Brewing

 

Jumping right out with a juicy hop taste that's fueled by the uniqueness of Mosaic, El Dorado and Cardinal hops, the crisp and dry IPA of HenHouse Brewing seems to split the difference between IPA of both the West Coast and Brut mindsets.

Pale chrome and cast in a fine mesh haze, their Joy Delivery System rises swiftly with an arid cottony froth. Its ripe aromas of berry, melon and tropical scents offers a refreshingly new hop scent with an herbal nature of matcha green tea closely behind. Shy on sweetness the lightness of honeysuckle, agave and light wafer splash against the tongue with a candied refreshment early on.

But a quick palate shift toward the hops diverts from the grain influences and boldly favors the tropical taste of pineapple with a twinge of under ripened orange, red berry and honeydew slides gracefully into an herbal and spicy finish of green tea, sassafras and lemon pepper in a decisively bitter taste late on the palate. As hints of cedar and vanilla ebb and flow, they take the edge off of the vinous dryness of white wine that adds a pep to the finish.

Medium light in texture, the beer's juicy upstart is a nice diversion from the brut character of the IPA, but its quick turn to the dryness, bitterness and herbal bite adds to the crispness, cleanliness and refreshment of the expressively carbonated beer. Its bubbles highlight the hop's spice and peppery resinous dryness in a medium long aftertaste of shaved wood and melon rinds.