Very Busy Predator
Off Color Brewing

Bright gold, loose foam that dwindles away, leaving behind a glassy surface and no lace. Slight haze with the yeast poured in, more of a canary yellow orange.

Lightly phenolic aroma, pepper and clove, vague sulfur. Low level acidity, dried citrus, pepper, popcorn, dry phenolic finish, vague honey aftertaste. Light bodied with a soft feel, scrubby carb. Wine yeast is really subtle, besides the mild dried citrus. Easy drinking, though more phenolic than i’m usually into.

First day of release. Quite possibly a first for me! And from my favorite brewer, to boot! (Does that phrase reveal my age.)
Anyway... to celebrate this, I bought Off Color's Predator sampler to experience side-by-side similarities in this ale family that seems to use a similar yeast and process. Just so you know, this OC 4-pack sampler starts with grand-daddy Apex and then, in the threesome order I had for tonight's dinner (Aqua, Very Busy and Le Predateur.)

Roughly in that order and to allow for comparison, Here is what I report.
* Aqua was the aperitif that cleansed my palate from an almost Fall day as I prepared dinner. Decent, but not at the table.
* Very Busy's debut is OK. It is decent enough at the table, if only because it is more innocuous than I was hoping for.
* Le Predateur is the best of the lot and may even be a rival-at-the-table to Apex from October to March.

That said, I poured Very Busy into Off Color's tall tulip and conclude it is a good first cut: balanced and more than a little reminiscent of Very, Very Far. Should Very Busy be offered next year? Probably not. But two or three years hence, I bet we are tasting a decent re-release.

9/17/21 The next day I have my second can of Very Busy side-by-side with its near twin, Very Very Far. They share the same wine yeast imbued into the house Predator yeast to induce more fruit. To me, the recipe adjustments seem minor. Very Busy has a simpler malt bill and only two hops. Both are well-integrated, but Very Far is my favorite ... but then I've had it 14 times in 18 months since its release. To get that sort of patronage, Busy needs more juice and drive.