Feeling Good
Rhinegeist Brewery

A brewery I find meh and a more-local brewery I steadfastly-support collaborate to create a big-ass hazy double IPA... how am I gonna pass up the chance to give this a shot? I have to see whether or not Rhinegeist will finally wow me and whether or not Castle Island can do a solid New England style hoppy pale ale (I have fewer doubts about one of these breweries, that's for sure). It's like two experiments in one! The beauty of collaborative beer...

Pours a hazy sunburst-yellow/orange color with a somewhat pallid complexion. A fairly thick and dense head of eggshell white foam leaves behind some pretty spectacular lacing which leaves behind latticework tiers of suds. Surface is completely covered by the dense, meringue-like foam. Interesting thing about this is it doesn't seem to be a pure milkshake of a beer like a lot of NEIPAs... I can see some particulate matter hanging around in the body, and, if I look really closely, I can even pick up slowly-rising bubbles indicative of carbonation. Nice stuff, for sure. Certainly looks the part, and gets some of the unusual subtleties right.

Nose is dank and stone fruit-forward, right up front. I get apricot, tangerine, nectarine, grassy notes and even some honeydew melon. Pine resin intensity takes up the rest of the nose, with slight deviations to the realm of raspberry jam and . Very hop-saturated and complex. Grapefruit rind and more melon come out more in the nose as it warms and as I sip.

On the tongue, this comes across quite bitter and resinous, with flavors ranging from tannic black tea to apricot to pine, but the malt bill keeps this whole thing grounded in relative normalcy. The Idaho 7 hops (the very same varietal used in Castle Island's hugely-successful and satisfying Hi-Def DIPA, mind you) pop here, reminding me of Mosaic when combined with Amarillo and Citra as they are in this recipe. The wheat helps soften the mouthfeel, lending a smooth and appreciable drinkability to a strong and overtly hop-charged brew. I don't think this has a very specific flavor profile to it, though, and that's where it seems to lose me. Grassy, dank and "fruity" really only goes so far, and these brewers seem to have kind of stuck right about on the line with this one. It's not pushing flavors that an 8.5% beer should push, especially given the hopping rates this no doubt had.

Luckily, the feel on this one is superb, thanks in no small part to the wheat added to the mash. I'm surprised there are no oats here, but the rather-basic grist of 2-row and pilsner malt with wheat added does a decent-enough job of gathering all of the flavors present here together. This doesn't feel quite as inspired as I want it to, though, and demarcates the second collaboration between breweries involving Castle Island that I feel is a bit below the mark for them. Granted, it's better than a lot of Rhinegeist stuff I've had, but it's still kind of been-there-done-that. In a sense, this is really just a slightly-different version of Hi-Def in a crappier format (22 oz bomber bottle for a rather absurd price point; somewhere between 10-12 bucks). I liked drinking it but I'd never want to get it again. If you see this review, just purchase Hi-Def from Castle Island. It's a better deal, and you're not really sacrificing much other than the "New England" marketing which ends up meaning very little here, anyway.

 

I bought a 4pck of this from my local meijer. It poured a slightly hazy golden with white head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent had a white grape floral hop nose. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with white wine flare. The mouthfeel is lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a good beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if I got a different brew but my can says the ABV is only 7%. Taste and hop profile are not bad not very bitter like the stone offering I had earlier. Even though the pounder was cheap I don't think I would get this again.

 

Hazy IPA brewed with Amarillo, Idaho 7, and Citra hops. Poured from a can into a Goose Island tulip. The pour is hazy as promised, but not cloudy. It is light orange in color and sports 2 fingers of fine white foam with good retention. The nose is very floral and a little citrusy. I get lemon, orange rind, and a little pine.

Medium body with a firm feel and very pleasant hoppy flavor. The Amarillo isn't too overwhelming and the other hops provide some nice fruity notes to the cedar, slightly spicy bite of Amarillo. Stony dry throughout and very appetizing. I was expecting to be disappointed (not all that crazy about Amarillo except in Rye beers), but this dog'll definitely hunt.

 

 

Becoming somewhat notorious for making rather well constructed IPA that just miss the mark slightly on the classic New England styled IPA, the brewers of Rhinegeist team up with Boston's Castle Island Brewery for a hazy IPA that has us all feeling pretty good.

Hazy but not quite turbid, the aptly named Feeling Good IPA pours with a voluminous, soapy froth. A bevy of fruit aromatics leap right out with citrus, tropical fruit, orchard fruit and stone fruit to cover all their hoppy bases. A light pastry sweet taste of honey and angel food cake greet the tongue with sweet grains and a bready sweet impression.

While the sweetness stews on the middle palate, the malt character remains in order to support the fruit esters and fruitier hop impressions with a vine ripe, branch ripe character of tangerine, red grapefruit, pineapple, mango, passionfruit, peach, apricot and lime. Drying patiently, the finish trends mildly bitter with green tea, fresh pine shavings, sassafras, and an overall chivvy late palate.

Medium bodied and trending herbal, a medium length aftertaste of fruit peels and grassiness leads to a malty dry, crisp, refreshing taste with a gin-like spice. Light pastry impressions continue in support of the hops and fruit esters down until the very end.

 

 

Bomber poured into a snifter

Translucent golden yellow liquid

One finger silky white foam cap , some lacings

Aroma of dank hops

Dank hops over malt taste

Taste the hops , slight bite

Good beer