All Is Illusion
Liquid Riot Bottling Company

 

 

Pint can 7.8%abv.
Opened and reviewed on: 1/29/20
Poured almost fully into a Duvel 25CL large Tulip glass.

A semi haze within a yellow-golden color that has a tint of orange peeking through. A full blown white foam dome is thick and creamy looking. Retained duration is long.

The aroma, very distinct... With that spicy and peppery citrus and piney hop scent. Pineapple and cloves, maybe even a hint of lime juice. The malt is lightly sweet and bready. A pungent, if not strange nose here.

The flavor follows suit, pineapple with spice, peppery citrus and floral piney flavors from these hops. Tastes and feels rather sharp-edged and tangy with lots of semi bitter left over pine in the aftertaste.

The mouthfeel starts out rather sharp and hard, crisp and peppery but finishing off rather soft and round. Seems like a hybrid feel of both West Coast style and NEIPA.

Some of the hop flavors are like "hey! Look at me!" And come across as bold and brash but nothing really seems to flow. A long and sour tangy taste lingers on for a while... But there is something interesting here... I just have to nail it down...
** From my recent review on Untapped:
All Is Illusion DIPA

Liquid Riot Bottling Co.

IPA - Imperial/Double

Smooth limes and white grapes in the hops. Sweet and tangy, light golden malty balance. Stone fruit and peppermint pops out in the hoppiness later. A bit light and soft around the edges but also peppery in the middle. 7.8% abv is hard to believe.

 

 

Not necessarily your typical Double IPA. All is Illusion poured from a 16 oz. can into a typical pint glass and was nearly clear in appearance. There were pleasant citrus notes that lasted on the roof of the mouth, but dissipated quickly at the top of the throat. The 8.3% ABV, though, can sneak up on you...especially since the feel and taste don't provide a warning. Overall, All is Illusion offers a different perspective on the Double IPA style, which is always a good thing.

 

Decent ipa. Thought it was too thin but enjoyed the flavor. Not a bad choice but Better options in Maine

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery

Look- slightly hazy straw yellow. Nice pillowy head that disappears and leaves little lacing. Oily like.

Smell- not getting a very pleasant smell, something weird here. Can’t tell.

Taste- very sweet on the tongue, little grapefruit slight mango. Very sweet.

Feel- somewhat of an oily feel. Smooth not very carbonated.

Overall this is a good dipa. Not the best but not bad. Worth a try for sure.

 

 

Pours a slightly dark orange color, slightly hazy with a nice 2 finger foamy head

The aroma has sweet tropical notes like pineapple and papaya, but not too strong.

The taste is not as sweet as I might have thought. There is a measured malt presence that takes over and muddles the hop profile to generically citrus with tropical notes. It starts off with sweet malts then a moderate bitterness enters midway through.. The finish is more floral with the hops, but again sort of muddled.

The feel is somewhat soft with a little seltzer to it that comes through in the finish.

I admit that I have not been able to get into Liquid Riot's IPAs too much. I was hoping this would be different - and it is in that it has less of their typical alcohol burn and malt-forwardness. However it leaves me underwhelmed. It reminds me of the "hazy" style that went through Portland a few years back where it was a little hazed, focused on sweet hops at the expense of the malt. I much prefer the current trends in southern Maine beers.