War Elephant
Rushing Duck Brewing Company

 

 

Current batch rated. 8.6 % ABV.

Opaque and turbid brew. Good head production and retention. Has the look of a NE-style IPA.

Super hoppy aroma in a bit of a throwback fashion. Grapefruit, pine, orange, along with stone fruit and citric acid. Little presence from the malt base.

Some pale malt sweetness presents on the palate, but it's still primarily about the hops. Moderate to high bitterness, quite reminiscent of a WC-style bitterness with a slight modern twist to the hop expression. Lemon, mango, grapefruit, orange peel. Light but noticeable astringency. Mild dankness; mild green herbal quality.

This is a very solid and enjoyable IIPA. It's somewhere in between the old and new world of American IIPAs, with WC sensibilities but a hop expression that feels like a blend of New Zealand/Australian along with both classic and modern Yakima. I'm not sure of the hop bill, but this in-between balance is quite nice.

 

 

 

 

Cool can art rendition of a LOTR Battle Oliphant of the Haradrim. It offers it's own presumptuous review, and suggests it be consumed fresh, yet shows no canning or best by date. >(insert FAIL buzzer here)
Color is a hazy gold with a dense white head of foam. Little to no lace clings after the fall.
Aroma is as the can states; "the smell(s) of citrus, tropical fruit and pine will assertively invade your nose".
Invade indeed. Pure grapefruit and melon to my nose. It's like smelling a lunch box fruit cup when you wanted to smell beer.
So boring and NOT different from 99/100 IPA's available these days and a perfect example of how more is not always better.
Flavor is "a full on assault with a barrage of more fresh hop flavors". Yeah citrus flavors. Big deal. Try some new - old hops.
This is almost sour it's so bitter with citric acid character.
I mean, I can picture some assistant brewer standing over the wort boil and laughing maniacally as he/she continuously dumps Mosaic hop pellets into the kettle for 90 minutes.
Seriously, if I had wanted a Mimosa I would have gotten one.
This just makes me sad for beer in general.
This is juicy all right if thats what you like in a beer. It's a horrible example of an IPA though in my 40 years learning and teaching about beer.
Finish is non existent. A faint hop bite at the back of the mouth and a light tingle of alcohol in the throat.
The 8.6% is fully enfolded in the medium bodied, pulpy thickness while providing the only reason to be happy I drank this, as it might help me forget it.

 

Malty but good, like a good foreign objects beer. But could be hoppier

Quality beer from a local brewery Rushing Duck. This was a NEIPA before their popularity blew up. This is a very good beer. I am drinking a pint poured out of a growler. It has a great cloudy glow to it and hides its ABV well enough. It is good-not spectacular. This has a big following around here. I would not pass it up on tap but I wouldn't go crazy to find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is hazy amber yellow in color and poured with a thin layer of off-white bubbles coating the surface and the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of citrusy hops are present in the nose along with hints of pine resin.
T: The taste follows the smell, except that the flavors of pine resin are stronger and stand out in front of the citrusy hops; slight hints of alcohol are perceptible. There are also underlying hints of caramel and pale malts with a light to moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels a bit more than medium-bodied and a little crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. The alcohol also lends hints of warming to the mouthfeel.
O: This beer feels like it is on the heavier side of Double IPAs but drinks rather well because it mostly masks the alcohol from the taste.

Serving type: growler