Juiceless
Wicked Weed Brewing

 

 

 

Wicked Weed and Creature Comforts love the citrusy, crisp, hoppy flavor of fruited IPAs, but we wanted to put a unique twist on this delicious style. For this collaboration beer, we cracked the juicy code without using any fruit. Is it hoppy? Of course. Smooth? Certainly. Juicy? THE JUICIEST. Made with fruit? NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. All the fruit flavor, all from the hops. This beer IS what it ISN’T." Brewed in the style of an American IPA, available in 500ml. bottles and on limited draft. Collaborative effort between Wicked Weed & Athens, GA's Creature Comforts Brewing.

Poured from a 500ml. bottle to a tulip glass.

(Appearance) Pours a creamy foam head of a paper white head over a moderately hazy golden amber body with fine carbonation and very fine sediment. Retention is excellent and there is moderate, clingy lacing. 4.5

(Smell) Aromatic bouquet of rich fruit and tropical fruit hop notes with a moderate bitterness. The smell is highly accessible and very pleasing, with reserved sharpness of pine or grassy hop options. There are lesser notes of lemon and herbal dankness in here too. The malt profile is simple blend of pale and soft pilsner-style malt. Potency is moderate/high. 4

(Taste) The flavor largely continues the impressions the aroma carry, with more pleasing hop bitterness on the finish. A nice 50/50 blend of tropical and citrus fruit hop flavor, with some wide flavor potential, softly lemony and peppery hops in there as well with some gentle dankness. This beer is certainly very "juicy" in experience with a nice hop selection that showcases a solid range of hop flavor. Finishes very clean and enjoyable. 4

(Mouthfeel) Texture is clean, softly chewy, medium dry. Carbonation is moderate, generating a medium frothiness and a moderately crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, shy of medium overall. Balance is slightly hoppy bitter over sweet. Alcohol presence is light and there are no off characters. 3.5

(Overall) I enjoy the flavor delivery that this beer has and think it does a really solid job at capturing the juicy impressions of citrusy and tropical hop selections without pouring actual juice. That said, it wasn't the "Juiciest" I've had, although certainly near the top, the peppery and dank hop flavors, while enjoyable as well and a solid contribution for more hop flavor range, distract this focus a bit. That said, this is another great bargain buy and an almost guaranteed win from two of the southeast's finest breweries, making it a collaboration worth seeking out and trying, especially while fresh! 4

Wicked Weed Brewing's
Juiceless India Pale Ale (With Creature Comforts Brewing Co.)
3.98/5.00

 

 

 

 

 

pours a clear, pale amber with a large fluffy head that hangs around a minute. nose; bretty hay, citrus pith, tangerine, passionfruit, & mosaic hops. taste; pale malt, yeast, soapy cilantro, hay, mango bitters, lemongrass, mosaic hops, & lemon zest. medium carbonation & mouthfeel. the mission statement on the label was interesting, but the result here is like a brettanomyces saison threaded with a session ipa. hmm...

 

 

 

 

Poured into an imperial nonic a burnt orange infused medium golden with a half finger sticky white head atop.A burst of tropical fruits greets the nose along with a floral component,a caramel malt backbone is detected as well.Sweet overripe tropical fruit notes really are the main flavor components with a decent sized caramel/biscuit malt base underneath,slightly bitter in the finish.I'ts good...really good but I will say it does lack a little flavor complexity....in my opinion.

 

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a Wicked Weed globe/tulip glass. Bottled August 22nd 2016.

Deep bronze orange amber body, nearly crystal but quite clear and minimal carbonation. Fluffy topped head, with fine soapy top retention and three east fingers. Good clingy and thick collar as it settles.

Fruity exotic tropic notes, mango and ripe pineapple like mix right on the nose. Spicy herbality as well, almost minty to mix in. Small light caramel sweetness as well but balances out the hops that dominant wonderfully, and a moderate bit of juicy thick quality.

Palate continues much of the hop delicious flavor. Slightly treacle in the mid palate with excellent tropical notes of mild pineapple, a bit of pine heat and some mango warmth. Aftertaste though has a bit of off putting flavor. Pasty yeast flavors and finish, almost like a sticky lager which puts the breaks on the hops and malt with a thud. Subsequent sips tend to wash this out with more fruit flavors but also some astringent earth/pine character seems to also get in the way.

A nice brew, but seems to have a bit of a jarring finish unfortunately. But still miles above a lot of other IPAs in quality and enjoyment.