Way Too Fresh
Crux Fermentation Project

 

Pours clear with a healthy head. Floral, fresh hop aroma. Sweetly hopped, like a tangerine kiss. Huele melon, citrus, creamy smooth. Goes down smoothly, without a hint of its 9.9% strength.

this beer is magic, perhaps the best of the imperial wet hop types i have had this year, and definitely my favorite of the handful of wet hopped beers i have had from crux this season. its a touch sweet, sure, maybe sweeter than i would normally want my ipa to be, but its almost flavorless sweetness, as the grain is really pale, no caramelized or toasted character to it hardly at all, and so it almost just serves as a vehicle for the hops in the finish, they seem to climax on the swallow, and there is this honey sort of thing to it where the oily sticky hops just park themselves and hang out at the end. definitely some mosaic in here, lots of it, not sure what else, but there are strong pineapple, orange, and weed notes to this, the dankness is on fire, but there is cool nuance to this too, smarties candies, peach rings, elderflower, its really layered. the intensity is high too, the hops start early and stay late, and its very much a whole mouth experience, i taste it everywhere. the freshness is obvious, the texture of the wet hops is as good as the flavor, and overall this is freakishly easy to drink because its so delicious and because the alcohol hardly comes out at all. this was among my favorites from the wet hop festival, really stands out from the crowd both in boldness and quality. super well done, but pace yourself! its not easy!

Hazy gold with two fingers of white head. Rings and swathes of lace.
Smell is dank and floral hops.
Taste is dank and floral hops. Good malt support.
Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation. The finish is mildly dry and bitter.
Overall a tasty West Cost IPA.

12oz can

Pours a half finger of white head into my tulip. The body is a dark orange, with a hefty amount of brown colors as well, it looks like tea. Visibility is very low. Small amount of bubbles coming up, and a noticeable amount of hop matter at the bottom of the glass. It looks ok so far.

The nose is certainly a fresh hopped one. Light citrus, grass, floral and vegetal aromas. Not quite dank, but in that ballpark. Upon further sniffs, it has some sweetness to it. Ever so slightly fruity as well. It definitely doesn't smell like a 10% beer. For being a pretty light nose, it's got a decent amount going on. It's hard to pinpoint my biggest gripe with the nose of fresh hopped beers, certainly the vegetal aromas don't help, but they also never smell "clean" to me, which is ironic because I would think they would smell even cleaner than a regular beer! Overall this isn't too bad for what it's doing.

Really interesting flavor here. Hits you up front with a dry, bitter, one dimensional citrus. Has that odd hop bitterness, not quite earthy or dank, but somewhere in between. Not my favorite. Then comes this burst of just....pazzaz that hits my tongue, more of a feel than anything, it felt like the beer literally exploded in my mouth, pretty cool. It reminds me of Pop Rocks. Finishes pretty damn clean and smooth, with a little sweetness, and maybe a touch of fruit, maybe even jam-y. You don't get any heat or booze, which is pretty insane. And while it is sweet, it's not overly sweet at all, you can taste the hops well, it's impressive. Overall not a fan of that initial fresh hop flavor, but the middle and end are phenomenal. Very good flavor.

The mouthfeel is stellar. A medium carbonation, with a soft, but lively feel. The body is about medium, lighter than I would expect for this beer, but that's fine, I'd rather have that than a sugar bomb. There is no lingering bitterness, and no lingering sweetness - damn clean! The "pop" like feel is just the cherry on the top. Oh and I didn't even mention the fact that you taste zero alcohol. I can't even understand how the mouthfeel is this good, slam dunk 5 right here.

The drinkability is also hilarious. It's somewhat light bodied, with no flavors lingering, and zero booze flavor or burn. Goes down like nothing.

Overall this is not the most delicious beer I've ever had in my entire life. But it's pretty tasty, and it's doing A LOT of things right, I'm enjoying drinking it. Very good beer.

The appearance turned out less than amazing. Little to no lacing, with a shotty head. The body was interesting I suppose.

 

 

Medium amber with a very slight haze. Fine, persistent, white head that leaves excellent lacing. The aroma is subdued for a fresh hop DIPA, but has some notes of caramel and floral. Taste is similar with the caramel sweetness dominating. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth. Alcohol is well hidden.