1000 Earthquakes
Rushing Duck Brewing Company

 

On draught at the brewery. 16 oz. pour served in a plastic cup. It pours a hazy, burnt orange color with a thick, creamy, bright white head and substantial lacing. A very attractive pour. It smell is floral with lite lemon and grapefruit, along with malty notes. The taste opens with a solid malt base, along with dry, bitter lemon and a hint of tangerine and pine. I'm tasting the dank, herbal notes from the Strata hops and the pine from the Idaho 7. It's not overly bitter. The mouth feel is luxuriously thick and creamy with pleasant carbonation. It's easy-drinking at 6.3% ABV. Overall, I suspect that the citrus and berry were stronger when this ale was fresh. Nonetheless, it's a solid American IPA.

Picked this up recently up at Cable Beverage in New York as I hadn't had anything from Rushing Duck in quite some time. This really didn't seem to fit the description of a New England IPA as it reminded me more of an American Pale Ale more than anything else, as this was a smooth and easygoing sipper without anything notable or noteworthy to it.

The hue to this was a light straw with plenty of light seeping through it, with just a few bits of dark sediment at the bottom that swirled around. A ton of of fluffy head topped this off as it slowly settled although there was very little lacing left behind as I sipped this, wish most of it being in the form of a deep and barely visible ring just above the middle of my pint glass. Lots of Hawaiian Punch, orange blossom, and deep citrus pith in the nose as the taste was just as heavy-handed on the palate. Thankfully, this was slick and didn't contain a ton of booze as it easily went down but I would have toned down the Idaho 7 and El Dorado down a notch if I had my way.

The mouthfeel was chewy to some extent and the carbonation just present enough to be felt, but could have been stronger to keep this a bit lighter in taste. No date was written on the bottom of the can as this seemed fresh but had several recent release dates when I looked it up on Instagram. This was nothing compared to higher-rated examples of the style but one of these was fine to kick back with at the end of a day...

 

This was really good. I will have another tonight and leave a more detailed review but if you see this and like NEIPAs that are not too hit you over the head then this is for you.

 

So I added this one July 4 but didn’t buy a four pack until this week’s release. B-I-L had a nice haul delivered for us. This is a delicious NE IPA. It’s no secret that I love RD beer. I’m terrible at picking out smells and tastes but I know when there is a big hip aroma and this beer has it. Big tropical fruit flavors with mild bitterness. Great beer on the lighter side of the IPA ABV spectrum.