Simcoe Wheat
Aardwolf Brewing Company

 

Straight pour from a 1L flip-top, amber glass growler to a 10oz stemmed tasting glass (TH stemware). This was filled one day before consumption at the source, and promptly went into the fridge until drinking. (Notes transcribed later, after taking them.) Freshy-fresh.

Appearance (4.0): Two and a half fingers of bone white foam, capping a pale, straw yellow body with orange low lights. The head leaves thin, wispy splotches of lacy film. Light, pretty, very pale, and a little sticky—fits the profile, certainly, of a session-ish IPA at this weight.

Smell (4.5): Simcoe dry-hopping is most obvious: a funky mix of pungent, sticky herb and a mix of mango and passionfruit dominate the aroma. Pine needles and floury biscuits blend underneath that mix of weed and tropical fruit, making for a beautiful bouquet.

Taste (3.75): Straight from resinous weed to very dry pine needle bitterness. Yellow grapefruit pith/zest adds a moderately astringent bitterness that blurs together. Melds well with the bracingly dry, lean malt body—common crackers, dry barley corns, etc. Light notes of tropical fruit come out more as the beer warms, but this is largely dominated by the conifer and cannabis notes that stem from the very first sip and weave their way throughout the palate.

Mouthfeel (4.0): On the light- side of medium-weight, but with a smooth texture. Slightly oily, and exceedingly dry from mid-palate to finish. As drinkable as the best session IPAs, even though the ABV is technically too high for it to land inside that category of beer. Even so, in this regard (of feel and drinability), that’s exactly where it sits.

Overall (4.0): This is somewhere between a blonde ale and a session IPA, I suppose. The Simcoe is bright, bitter, pungeny, and it dominates. That pungency limits the drinkability, but cements the beer’s status as an all-day drinker at the same time. Great, light vehicle for Simcoe hops.

 

Listed as a Hoppy Wheat beer. not sure true style. 4oz pour at brewery