Element Tree
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

another super hazy strong ipa from these guys just bursting with freshness. i love going up to washington as often as i have been lately and getting to try all kinds of bale breaker stuff, they are slaying the hoppy styles, and this is no exception, although it does present itself as a little less refined than a lot of their others, even other hazy ones. its past hazy to murky and even dim looking in the glass, a nice frothing white head on it from the tap and all, but some serious density, almost unflattering. the nose is amazing through, huge pulpy fresh citrus and ripe mango right away, some lightly starchy raw kind of grain to it as well, a hint of lemongrass and honey, and a fruit punchy thing as well, really appealing even on a grade a hangover. the flavor is just as good as the nose, no drop off in intensity, no greenness really at all, and absurd freshness to it. i love the orange and mango character, some papaya and kiwi fruit in here too, kind of mouthwatering to me, fuller bodied but it helps the hops linger and set in deeper, really bold brew, but again, somewhat less refined than it could be, drinks a bit heavy to me as it warms, and even though it doesnt really ever get bitter, its almost overly intense at the swallow. whatever the hops are in it are awesome, and great together, and that part should remain, but the base beer could stand some cleaning and lightening up to become a bit more drinkable. nice as a morning beer with the orange character, and a good companion to some spicy wood fired pizza, bale breaker is on fire with these styles, and this was fun to drink, but a little tidying up would go a long way, just a little too hazy, cloudy, and thick for me to want more than one of...