Soul Cellar
Bog Iron Brewing

 

 

Very hazy & moderately "juicy" ... tastes tame for a NEIPA ... less bitter than many. Interestingly, lactose is one ingredient - didn't see that coming.
Overall, I'll be back for another draft.
On the menu @ Emma's in Norton & Raynham MA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK Brian, here is my honest, no holds back, review. Let's see how this baby purrs... bottled 10/06. Also love the play on words, for "soul seller" to "soul cellar".

Pours a decent fizzy almost creamy but mostly bubbled 1/2 finger head that retains fairly well, plenty of alphabet lacing (lacing that looks like characters of greek alphabet). fairly hazy apricot orange color.

Nose starts with stone fruit, a bit of apricot preserve and nectarine, a tiny bit of a tropical-y note there but not typical tropical, something I can't really label for fruit though, generic fruitiness, there's some specific fruits that if you told me I'd say "yeah that" but I can't pick it out specifically, also some sweet malty base notes, oh wow, now I'm getting like a strawberry kiwi thing with a honey glazed malty fried dough, a little bubble gum, melon rind, and guava. Super dynamic nose that started muted but opened nicely. (Gave the nose 4.25 based on what it finished as, not what it started like, although if it was like that throughout prob would be 4.5).

Taste starts malty, seems to have a typical Bog Iron yeast or malt character but very similar base to many of their hoppy beers, even the honey character is there with a fair sweetness, like a honey glaze on the mild doughy malt, and a bit of a creaminess and a little caramel creams candy. Next for the hops, fair to mild bitterness with a nice balance, back into lots of various fruits, most of which I can't label. Some tropical notes maybe some guava and jack fruit, not much for citrus but a little maybe grapefruit juice in there, again stone fruit with an apricot preserve and perhaps white peach, and back into that strawberry kiwi flavor on the back end again. Finishes a bit drier but a bit sticky sweet as well, more caramel cream candy malt flavor with a touch more honey glazed honeybun or something, bit more strawberry kiwi and generic fruit, and fair bitterness ramping a bit.

Mouth is med bod, a bit creamy and almost chewy feeling, softer which is nice, a bit light on the carbonation but otherwise nice (easily 4.5-4.75 if carbonation was better)

Overall a really interesting take on NEIPA, I really like the bitterness level and malt balance, fruits don't take on anywhere I expect for what most NEIPAs out there are, but then again there is nothing that says NEIPA has to be citrus and tropical explosion, this took on some really interesting and unique fruit flavors, with a lot of interesting honey character mixed in. There was a rollercoaster of aromas and somewhat on the flavors as well, a really fun experience if I had to say anything. Although this was fun and interesting to try, it's not quite at the level of Middle Child or Jump Back if you're getting an IPA from them, but it's definitely a very unique take on NEIPA. Improvements, hmmm... well first carbonation but that would likely be completely different on draft although the softness of the mouth was awesome. I like the malty balance but maybe a bit less sweetness overall. Also if that nose skipped the ambiguous stage and was a bit more bright it would bring out more of the nice characters. And if I'm being honest, the version of Drawing a Blank I had was a bit more like a typical NEIPA and was actually delicious, but from our conversation this is pretty much what you were going for so good job, especially on the mouth (other than carbonation).