Mosaic Crush
Reuben's Brews

Medium bodied with a nice mild hop flavor, no bite. It has a little sweetness to the taste and aroma is mild hop and tropical fruit. Really like this beer
Earlier Rating: 11/21/2021 Total Score: 4.1
This is one great hazy IPA. It has a nice tropical aroma and taste of pineapple and grapefruit with a little bite from the hops. The color is kind of a clear/hazy straw with an off-white head. 47 IBUs Rated 12-17-2021

 

It's plenty hazy in the chalice with adequate foam. The first impression is that it's really sweet. Tastes like orange as usual, with a dose of fermented vegetables. Lush and slippery mouthfeel with a nice spritz to go with the gunk. Aroma of citrus and something sourish. Overall this is a better than average NEIPA, sugary but not overly acidic. From the 16 oz can purchased at Central Market with a smudgy date.

 

This one does an excellent job showcasing Mosaic and leans into the citrus side of the hop variety, not as much the dank and berry-forward angle. This is beautifully golden orange and hazy as all get out with a creamy off-white head. Juicy, citrusy, floral, earthy and fruity.

cool can, good beer. my father in law thinks it tastes like gasoline or propane or something, and he has become somewhat of a haze master, but i dont really agree, i think this is cool, maybe not epic from these guys or up to their usually high standard, but still its nice, a different side of mosaic a little bit yet a pretty agreeable hazy beer overall, a costco buy i think, i dont shop there but many in my life do, and this was a fridge pull from one of them for me. darn hazy, orange and thick looking, some lasting head but not enough to make this appear any lighter overall. aroma and flavor are unique, and maybe there is a subtle solvent thing going on, but i get more of a berry complexion too than i am used to from this hop, a juicy clementine and tangerine thing, light coconut, green grape, pear, apple, and even like spicy arugula greenness, but not from it being overly dry hopped, its odd, even challenging for a second, but appealing. the ferment is a little unclean and to me this isnt real fresh, but those are critiques on the periphery of something otherwise pretty fire, and the boldness of the mosaic makes it stand out to me, this isnt samey at all and thats a feat with a hop that literally everyone is using and featuring. good carbonation but too much body and haze to be that drinkable, generic and fading malt in the background, but the hops are unique enough that i like this, crazy to say about mosaic. its heavy almost sloppy feeling, but also long and creamy which is cool, a mixed bag. odd, but good. what do others think, a somehow flatting but technically lousy brew, or something curiously excellent?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16oz can served in a nonic glass. PKGD on 03/26/2020.

Look- Hazy golden orange color, solid off-white head with nice retention and lacing. Moderate/light carbonation streams visible.

Smell- Big citrus (orange flesh and lemon/lime), peach/nectarine, mango and papaya, herbal/floral hops.

Taste- Similar to the aroma, juicy orange and stone fruit, tropical fruit, bready malt a hint of berry with a lightly bitter hop back end.

Feel- Medium bodied, slightly sweet but fairly crisp at the same time. Moderate carbonation on the tongue.

O- Nice for a Mosaic single hop brew. I wish the berry notes that Mosaic is known for were more in play but I'm not gonna complain.

Fully cloudy orangey yellow, white surface lacing and a lacy collar. Ah mosaic hops with its lovely pine bitters, the nose is filled with them, melon, papaya, lime, dried mango, and slight bubble gum. Taste is thinner, letting a milder version of the hops, melon, papaya, and lime shine, with everything else fading to barely there. Body is medium-light though hallows out through the sip, lightly hazy, and refreshing.

16oz can (natch), canned on 3/12/20, poured into 14oz teku. Poured a solidly murky medium-orange color with 1/2-inch of white head that had decent retention and lacing.

A huge burst of frooty hops jumped out at the crack of the can. No real malt or grain upon further sniffing.

Same on the tongue; all frooty hops, no malt or yeast.

The body was the typical medium-light of the style, and had medium finish.

Drinkability was fine, but, one-and-done for me.

Overall, a solid, but decent, example of the style.

Rueben's Brew here has inspired another of my theories: NEIPAs are easier to make if a brewer makes its money making IPAs. What a radical theory ! (Of course, it is not... it only makes sense.) But the theory goes... if I brewer gets the malts right in a popular IPA, then the brewer can substitute some NEIPA hops and get the new style right.

No matter how this is actually done, I'm guessing that it happened here with Reuben's and this Mosaic Crush. It Looks the part of an NEIPA, but not enough foam to last the glass. Smells are entirely above the style's average; a full bouquet of fruit for me. Tastes are even better as the bitter hops barely bother me. This sits fine in my mouth.

As for my superficial brewer's review, Reuben's has one of the best websites I can remember for an eight year old. This husband-wife shop is incredibly prolific and, if Mosaic Crush is an indication, they've got the quality, too. Too many beers, too little time. But, good luck all the same to Reuben's.