8 Track
Rhinegeist Brewery

 

Once you get to a certain age, it becomes common to get nostalgic about life. For Rhinegeist, that happens at year eight and they look back at a music trend of thirty years prior. But looking forward, the brewery looks to the hops of Mosaic, Centennial, Azacca, Galaxy, Columbus, Citra and heightened alcohol content for what's basically fireworks for the palate.

Light amber to golden orange, Eight Track builds a foamy lather with a reasonably hazy body underneath. A fruity melange of tropical, citrus, orchard, berry and stone fruit tease the sense along with a floral bouquet and a spicy twinge of booze. With a malty impression early on the tongue, the initial sip is bold with caramel, honey and graham crackers overall.

As the malts slowly recede, the hops start to blossom with a juicy burst of orange, mango and red grapefruit but then a quick followup of pineapple, apricot and peach. Eventually, the more nuanced flavors of lime, papaya, currant and plum make their way into the flavor matrix before the final flavors develop a spicy hop bite of spruce, hemp, fruit peels and gin.

Full in body but developing a sense of boozy dryness late, the hop bitterness also helps with their gripping resinous bite. Finishing on the drier side of malty-dry, Eight Track lingers with a curacao liquor type of spice and a piney grip to the gullet deeply after the more subtle fruit and malt flavors subside.