Half A Brain
Crux Fermentation Project

Look: A sludgy slurry of orange glugs into my glass with what looks like some chunks near the end, followed by a huge, puffy head

Aroma: Coconut, lime, pineapple, peach, some apricot, nectarine, sweet mango, and sweet, bready malt

Taste: Starts out with a little pina colada, with the coconut and pineapple quickly unpacking and as they develop, lime joins the fun, showing up at the end of each wave of pina colada. Peach-heavy stone fruit is next and nectarine and apricot show up as well, along with mango and these all play nice until it closes out

Mouthfeel: Full-almost viscous, smooth, lightly carbonated, and soft and thick on the finish

Overall: I dig it. This is a good hazy and another good showcase of HBC1019 (Dolcita) with it’s dominating peach-led stone fruit prowess. I haven’t gotten the pina colada from 1019 before and it reminds me a lot of Sabro in that sense, but it works well here. Solid stuff if you like peaches and hazies

Pours a nice golden light hazy color with medium head and tropical notes on the aroma with no real dominant aroma. It has a good flavor profile of normal malt tastes and mild hops. Very drinkable. At Taps Growler House. Rated 2-29-2024

 

 

properly called half a brain, with the a, im sure this is the same beer. some of the best label art ive seen in awhile, clever and awesome. the beer in the can is predictably excellent as well, crux kills it with the hoppy stuff, always has, and this was a treat. real hazy, super pale, washed out looking but still full bodied, creamy white headed, well carbonated, nice retention and lacing here. the nose is killer, very tropical to me, definite vacation vibes to it, key lime, crushed pineapple, green apple oddly, and a coconut note, new school hops for sure, mostly but not entirely dry hopped it seems, there is faint bitterness here, its juicy but not cloying, punchy and vivacious, fresh as heck, maybe oat based, its fuller and enriched to me. the flavor is real similar to the nose, a little tight when first poured but it opens fast. green melon and its rind, lime juice, fresh coconut, almost even a cocktail thing about it, nothing forced or overdone, this isnt harsh or intense, but its very flavorful. some softer floral notes, a nice cereal contribution from the malts, a tangerine thing, and overall a somewhat unfamiliar hop profile, something new in this, really good. fluffed up rich feel, drinkable and dry, very mellow late onset bitterness, not too heavy despite its really hazy look, delicious and modern.

edit: i liked each successive can of this more and more, and shockingly, the last one, many months later, the best of all of them, so strikingly different than what else is out there in this samey style space. huge coconut, green melon, and sativa character to this, even vanilla, and its just pillowy soft and fully effervescent. crazy that in this style this might actually somehow be getting better in the beer fridge! as good as it gets for me in the style, raising the flavor and overall scores a notch, this is unreal beer, totally flying under the radar, but its epic. do not miss out!