Fraxos
Modern Times Beer

 

Point:
This pours a slightly hazy straw gold. I like the aroma. Juicy and fruity with a tangerine mandarin squeeze. Rounded, with a touch of bitterness. Grew on me with each sip.

Counterpoint:
Pours a turbid, murky yellow. No foam.
Little aroma. Tart hoppy bitterness is the defining flavor. It’s a muddled mess!

I had it twice, different experiences each time.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DW for providing this sample - hand carried from San Diego!

Could see that it was cloudy coming out of the can. Deep golden or pale amber color, hyper cloudy. Pours a moderate sized white head, creamy and decently lasting.

Sweet fruity nose with a lot of orange and mango - very pleasant but not overly interesting.

A bit of malty sweetness initially, then loads of hop flavors. A lot of mango, and the hop flavor strikes me as more interesting than the aroma. Seemingly brewed in the hop burst or at least very heavily skewed toward late additions hopping - just a mellow, gentle bitterness at the end. The hop flavors and tropical fruit linger into the finish. Hop flavors are intense and pleasant.

Medium body and low end of medium carbonation. Seems to have a bit of warming (or am I feeling the hot sauce from dinner?) Has a tanginess or tartness on the tongue, but isn't astringent.

I think this takes the modern IPA to the extreme, and does it well. Remarkably fresh tasting with the hops.

Really liked this one wish it was available more often.

 

 

The beer blew me away at first, but my excitement about it waned by the end of the can, which I had poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
It pours an uber-hazy opaque straw color and looks a bit creamy and a bit oily as it pours. Very thin head that quickly settles; not much lacing.
The aroma is a bouquet of tropical fruit with prominent pineapple, mango, some seeet orange, banana, and some raw sugar. The taste gets a little messy with the bright tropical hops counter balanced by heavy-handed candied banana-brown sugar sweetness. This balance was refreshing at first but the sweetness becomes cloying by halfway through. There are some herbals, a little spice, and thick bready malt. Feel is a bit viscous, creamy, a little oily. Finish is not bitter and has a syrupy linger. It really doesn’t taste like an IPA - more like a malty syrupy APA with nice fresh hops. The result is decidedly mixed.

 

 

 

 

Can from ABV.

Hazy orange with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and lacing, this looks great. The nose is soft, juicy, fruity with pineapple juice, peach juice, green grape juice and some melon. A touch of grass is present. The palate opens with a mild bitterness and plenty of hop flavor. Peach juice, mango juice, a little of pineapple juice, a little bit of grass and a flavor that vaguely reminds be of oats. The mid-palate is a little watery, with the sweetness of the juice flavor cut by a moderate carbonic acid bite. Drying on the finish, this beer is both, medium in body yet a bit watery.

 

 

Picked up a four-pack from TW Arrowhead 4-8-18 for $10.99. Canned on 3-17-18; received at TW 3-27-18.

Beer poured the typical hazy orange with a very nice white head that is leaving some lacing behind.

Nose is fresh squeezed orange juice, very nice.

Initial sips were like sipping on your morning juice, very fresh. Orange forward with a light touch of pith to let you know this is an IPA.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and very refreshing.

Overall this hits the mark for the style, very enjoyable!

 

 

Pretty much opaque cloudy yellowish brew, but it has an exuberance of white foam in the Tripel Karmeliet tulip. Thickish body but not gunky. Aroma of marmalade with some papaya. Seems to be all fruit and not any of the pine or resin flavors.

Overall this has the orange juice taste and is quite sweet. I think of the sweet peels of kumquats. Plenty hoppy, though, just not overly bitter. Still it's a murky flavor with some kind of chalky persistent sensation that is not my favorite. From the 16 oz can purchased at Barons Market on West Point Loma.

 

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a very hazy golden amber, looking like unfiltered orange and pineapple juice, with a two finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. The expected aroma of tropical fruit and light citrus hops, orange citrus, mango, pineapple with hints of light stone fruit. Flavor is tropical and light citrus and piney hops, orange and lemon citrus, apricot, mango, papaya and passion fruit. Finishes with solid mixed tropical and citrus fruit. Medium bodied with light to medium creaminess and nice mouth feel. A classic NE hazy IPA profile with a little more variety to the fruit flavors and a solid finish that has a moderate hop kick to it, which redeems it for me as I'm not fond of the purely juicy in this style. Kept my interest through the taste and entire can, so gets a fine score despite not being my favorite IPA style. These guys know how to deliver an IPA.

Canned date 03/09/18

Appearance - Pours hazy and faded orange in color with an off-white, dense half finger width head. Displays sub-par retention before peeling back to a thin, broken layer of suds across the surface.

Smell - Fair aroma with light citrus and tropical character. Orange, apricot, mango and underlying yeasty dough.

Taste - Mellow citrus upfront before big juicy notes of apricot and mango kick in. Hints of pineapple acidity.

Mouthfeel - Medium-bodied with fair carbonation. Slick texture makes this an easy drinker.

Overall - Pretty tasty hazy IPA with solid balance and juiciness. One of Modern Times better beers, IMO.

 

 

 

Canned on 3/10, consumed on 4/9 - poured from a tall-boy into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Old gold body, turbid to opacity, topped a finger of papaya whip foam. Thick lather-like lacing; very good retention.

Dank and fruity nose suffused with tangerine, peach, and marijuana, with hints of wild onions and tropical fruit.

Herbaceous, sweet, fruit-infused palate with apricot and candy apple notes in the medium finish. Moderately bitter, faintly warming, and slightly sweet. Juicy with hints of Thai basil and quinine beneath the wave of orange and jolly ranchers.

Creamy, lush, faintly sticky mouth-feel.

Some nice gentle fruit character from the yeast here, although at the cost of attenuation, so the beer is a bit sweet for the style.

 

 

 

 

 

The beer pours out a hazy yellow color with 1 finger of white head-------------- the aromas are of orange juice, tangerines and grapefruit(light aroma)--------------- the flavors are of orange juice, orange zest, bubblegum,grapefruit and lesser mango, papaya and passion fruit(really juicy flavors)the beer has a full mouthfeel with a light grapefruit like bitterness on the finish--------------- overall this beer was delicious, a little light on the aroma but more than makes up for it in the flavor department

Type: 16-oz. can
Glass: Clear 16.5-oz. Belgian ale tulip
From: Bine & Vine Bottle Shop in Normal Heights (San Diego), Calif.
Price: $12.49 for a 4-pack
Purchased: March 17, 2018
Consumed: March 17, 2018
Reviewed as: New England IPA
Misc.: Canned on March 9, 2018

First time seeing this March release in stores and picked up a 4-pack. Online description read, “This 16oz hazy wunderkind will be crafted with a bevy of Citra & Simcoe hops and fermented with London III yeast, yielding a dazzlingly delicious IPA with massive notes of mango, stone fruit, and tropical magic that are going to light up your pleasure receptors like a frickin’ Christmas tree.” Oh yeah. Let’s roll.

Poured a hazy pale color with two fingers of off-white frothy head. Some slow moving bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. World-class layered foamy lacing. Outstanding retention. (Sight - 4.25)

Smelled bubble gum, Juicy Fruit, strawberry, stone fruit, papaya, Simcoe, rose blossom, Circus Peanut candy, Citra, dish soap, lime zest, lemon grass, mango and apricot. More mango, papaya, guava and Citra from the can. (Smell - 4.00)

Taste followed the nose for the most part. Think I overrated this smell a 0.25 line, but the taste wasn’t going to get that bump. Got bubble gum, Juicy Fruit, papaya, Simcoe, sugary Citra, strawberry, rose blossom, dish soap, lime zest, stone fruit, mango, orange rind, apricot, Circus Peanut candy and dry lemon grass. (Taste - 3.75)

Medium body. Thin-to-oily texture. Lively carbonation. Dry, spicy finish. (Feel - 3.75)

This was a very good beer, but I think I slightly overrated it. (Overall - 3.75)

3.84 | 86 | B+

 

Fraxos pours an opaque white washed yellow with a hint of orange and a splash of tan. A frothy and foamy white head proudly rest on top and stubbornly descends as it makes it's presence well known to the glass.

Cotton candy sugar is met with triopical fruits and their raw skins. Mango, papaya, tangerine, and melon are met with just a dash of pine sap as a final touch.

The flavors are well integrated. Again, very tropical fruit dominant, but a sharp, unripened fruit comes in at the end, complete with a lite bitter bite. A touch of pepper and even a hint of buttercream come in to play as it warms.

Juicy, smooth, and a bit plucky perhaps. A decent amount of tingly carbonation helps lift up the mild bitterness.

Overall, another good juicy IPA from MT. Nothing to jump for joy over, but it definitely satisfies, and I could imagine it being quite great with some Luau Pork. Cheers.

I received this in @bum4ever's LIF box. Canned on 3/18, 2018 so less than two weeks old when reviewed. Poured into Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours an opaque bright golden-tangerine color with over a finger of fluffy, milk-white head and soapy lacing that lasted through the pour. It has an aromatic tropical nose featuring tangerine, mango, lemon, and another sweet fruit that I couldn't identify. There's not much pine of hops in the smell. The taste is luscious: lots of mango up front followed by lemon and grapefruit that provide a nice tart balance to the sweet fruit. The Citra and Simcoe hops add to the flavor but aren't overly bitter. It finishes nicely dry and clean. This ale is crisp and light with pleasant carbonation, and at 6.5% ABV it's super-drinkable. Overall, this is a terrific tropical IPA with great balance of sweet, tart, and bitter. I'm really impressed. I don't know whether Fraxos ever makes it to the East Coast but if I ever see it I'll buy it in a heartbeat.