Nomadic DIPA
Base Camp Brewing Company

 

 

Poured into a tulip, the appearance was a hazy burnt orange color with a cap of a little white foamy head. Subtle lace. The aroma had some grapefruit pulp sweet and rind-like bitterness gently flowing over some brisk sweet and bitter piney-ness. Ample amount of cohesive earthiness brought it all together. The flavor was substantially sweet at first and then developed more of a earthy to bitter character as it warmed. Nice aftertaste of the blend which rode into the finish. The palate was about medium bodied with a good sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt as projected. Overall, pretty good DIPA, seemingly West Coast styled but perhaps with a Base Camp sort of creativity. Though I missed the "Brett" that was supposedly in this.

 

 

Extra bubbly clear golden brew with steady long lasting head. Smell is a little one dimensional; aromatic acidic hops with a tough of browning grass. The taste is surprising, a dark earthy woodiness with a strong dried leafy presence. Definitely a rich meaty orange flavor is persistent. Not bright and acidic but old dank and woody orange. Blood orange was a good touch, but a little too overpowering. Feel is too syrupy, too boozy, not very well balanced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's evident a lot of work went into this beer. It's unique in a way that Dogfish is unique with trying new brewing methods and experimenting with less than common ingredients.

The people at Base Camp didn't just decide to jump on the overdone fad of making a juicy DIPA they went all out and paired Brettanomyces with Blood Orange. That's tart on top of tart ,funky with a splash of funk and a beer that tastes more like a Fruity Belgium based Saison than a DIPA.

The flavor is acidic as all hell, the sticky acid clings to the back of your tongue and throat. The warming of the alcohol is pleasant and comforting. Theres an orange Pixie Stick flavor in my mouth that gets accentuated with the warming of my breath.

So what the hell did I just drink? It was fun, it had character. I downed the 22 ounces. Would I make it a go to DIPA? God no. Would I suggest it to a beer newbie? Nope. Would I suggest it to a beer snob wanting to test their senses, and down one of these for fun? Absolutely. They limit their marketability but makes for fun drink.

I don't usually write a poor review but people need to be warned. This was potentially the most disgusting beer I have ever had, seriously. I love IPA and double IPA, my favorites are northeast varieties with their tropical fruitiness, cloudy haze and pillow soft mouth feel, but I also go deep trying all types of beers from all regions. To be fair I don't typically don't choose the fruit infusions that are so abundant now a days but I'm down with a few of them so I figured I'd give the Nomadic IIPA with blood orange shot when I saw it for the first time.

The good: has a really cool can-bottle design. That is where the good ends

Pours a weird deep orange color, look like someone shot some food coloring into your beer
Smells pretty much like vomit
Tastes follows the smell - like vomit but with a weird resinous aftertaste
Mouth feel was biting and harsh
The head seemed fluffy and white as I pored it down the drain after the first sip and good lacing was left in my sink.

Never had any Base Camp beers before this one, let's hope this was just a weird science experiment got horribly wrong.

 

Slightly hazy orange honey color with a good head sustained by the continuing carbonation. Smells of the blood oranges. Tastes of the blood oranges with some underlying hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is smooth, a little oily with some carbonation and alcohol burn. Overall, a pretty good beer with clear blood orange and moderate hop flavors. The 9% ABV is evident.

All-Brett 9% IPA with blood orange? I'm down with this idea for sure. I mean, the last all-Brett IPA I had with a citrus addition was likely Evil Twin's Femme Fatale Yuzu and that is one of the coolest beers ever, so my excitement is certainly pretty high here. This is my second beer from Base Camp and, I gotta say once again, I love the art direction and can-bottle (22 oz aluminum bottle shaped container). Super eye-catching with great font choices and layout. Totally jumped off the shelf in my opinion. Sometimes that kind of thing is hard to find these days, so they do get points for that.

Pours an awesomely orange/deep amber hued hazy body with heady carbonation and a large cap of sticky-laced white foam that retains pretty awesomely, most likely thanks to Brett being used for fermentation. Some fine hop and yeast solids in suspension. Let's get right into this beautiful beer!

Nose is, again, excellent. So far they're two for two here; much better than the S'mores Stout which I wasn't a big fan of. I get a lot of tropical Brett funk, rustic notes, pineapple, guava, blood orange (of course), sweet orange candy, biscuity malt and some grapefruity hop notes as well. Very robust and interesting approach here. There's a slight hint of ethanol in there as well, but it doesn't seem too forward overall.

Palate is a bit less great, as I get a lot of very juicy blood orange that feels a tad on the "artificial" side of things, crossed with a rather thick and syrupy malt base that's pretty caramel-forward and sweet. I get a little less hop quality than was hinted at in the nose, too. Very citrusy and oily with a slick and wet feel. Of course, the Brett yeast does contribute some medicinal flavors combined with rustic/"horse blanket" qualities as it usually does, but this just comes across a bit too heavy bodied for its own good. The carbonation that looked super active in the pour seems to fall a bit flat on the tongue and the finish isn't as dry as a Brett fermentation would usually lead to, making this feel awkward. Still, I applaud the experimentation going on here, and for 9%, this drinks quite a bit smaller and was very affordable. Combined with the great packaging, excellent presentation in glassware and unique nose, this comes out solid when all's said and done.