Dinosaur World - Double Dry-Hopped
Modern Times Beer

 

Poured from a can (05Feb2020) into a pint glass

L: dirty yellow brown with a decent white head and lacing

S: think this is a victim of age (realize only 4 months, but still). Not much tropical anything from the nose, instead this kind of malty sweetness with a vegetal/generally off odor

T: same as the nose, nothing fruity or tropical here just that off vegetal and uncharacteristic malty flavor. Makes me think of having past their prime west coast IPAs, minus the redeeming bitterness. Slightly sweet

F: medium carbonation, medium body

O: going to blame this on age but also disappointing it fell off this much after a couple months. Not much to be excited about here, had half a can that was it for me

Dinosaur Waorld pours a hazy, honey yellow with a half inch of lush, thick and creamy, light yellow head. THe smell hold lots of tropical fruit including crushed pineapple, papaya and lots of mango with some grapefruit and citrus zest. The taste was sett, candied orange up front with some pithy bitterness and the tropical fruits from the nose. Smooth and nice to drink.

Had on tap. Hazy orangey yellow, with a pinky finger of white head, very lush in coloring depth. The nose is so juicy! Pineapple, huge mango, apricot, papaya, clementine, and a touch of grapefruit. Taste is right there with the smell, juicy, has great dry hops halfway and through, some melon and lime in there too. The feel is a neipa dream: soft, juicy, lush, fresh, dries toward the finish. Just give me a touch more hop bitterness and I will be in heaven! Great beer, thanks to the local who recommended!

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours a murky honey color with a one finger head; splashy lacing

Smell: Lime and grapefruit; citrusy and very pithy

Taste: Lime and grapefruit forward with biting bitterness developing; sharp and pithy into the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Overall: Here is an NE IPA from the Berkshires - just about as far to the west as you can go while still being in the New England region

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Straight pour from a 16oz can to a teku. This has a canning date of January 10, 2019 printed in black ink on the underside of the can (“01/11/2019 #004163”). That would make it 14 days old at the time of consumption.

Appearance (4.25): Two and a half fingers of thick, creamy, ecru foam rise off of the pour amiably, capping a murky, dark tan body with orange undertones that lend it just enough color to not feel muddy. The head dies down slowly, leaving an alpine ridgeline of broken, lacy collar variably tied to a pock-marked, thin cap on the surface, connected by spooky, craggy legs like some ancient oak tree. The body may be a little unappealing, but the lacing is gorgeous.

Smell (4.5): Big notes of orange marmalade and crushed pineapple mix with brandied fruit cake, a shade of triple sec, key lime juice, and richer, subtler tones of baked pear crisp, light strawberry, and simple syrup. As the beer opens up, brighter notes of fresh grass and Juicy Fruit appear slowly, but manage to stay behind the mélange of boozy citrus, mango sorbet, light brown sugar, a hint of sauvignon blanc, and pain de campagne with a side of maple whipped butter. Beautifully fragrant.

Taste (4.25): At first, you get a sense of sweet orange candy like Jolly Ranchers before it is immediately overtaken by bright limeade bitterness and very quiet, fresh country bread. That soon transforms into a blend of pink grapefruit zest and macerated white grape seeds, showing more of the tannic side of those seeds than the astringent, bitter side. Below that bitter, tannic flash, the orange marmalade and triple sec noted in the nose come into play, pairing with softer notes of mango sorbet and sweet jasmine. There is definitely a malty substructure to the beer, built with a base of mixed grain country bread (like there’s a bit of spelt and just a very small amount of rye flour in the mix), but it remains largely hidden if you’re not looking for it. Especially with the quietly spicy character of the hops, in the way the bitterness subsides in the finish and a peppery, soft burning character fills the void. That spiciness acts as a lovely counterpart to the dry bitterness in the finish. No sign of booze at all.

Mouthfeel (4.25): This beer is on the full-side of medium-weight, stopping short of heavy or syrupy by quite a bit, but filling and chewy all the same. The carbonation is surprisingly active, rolling in with a thin, tingly layer of very fine bubbles that foam up readily into a big, lush, sudsy wash on its way out. It manages to keep the body floating, never showing its full weight. Meanwhile, the hop oils in this beer work in tandem with the carbonation to dry out and juiciness and slickness that may have been deposited earlier. Way too easy to drink.

Overall (4.25): This is a great beer. It’s weird though, in the way that the double dry-hopping seems to detract from the flavor and feel in subtle ways—and yet I still yearn for the bigger dose of hops present in this beer. It adds things that I enjoy, but in some ways take away. Regardless, it still feels juicy, hoppy, and moderately complex, while remaining way too drinkable, making for a great drink. Even so, it’s not perfect by any means, though I love it all the same. It seems like this brewery hits its stride when it goes big within the style but with a new recipe—rather than boosting its older recipes with extra hops, even if I love ‘em anyway. Recommended, but not over one of Modern Times’ more interesting (D)IPAs.