Ultra Soft IPA
Collective Arts Brewing

 

 

I'm starting to get the feeling that many experimental brews are not very successful. This one is pretty unexceptional, especially for what I probably paid for it.

It pours light yellow and cloudy, like a New England style. The aroma is a somewhat funky mess of malts and hops. The taste and mouth feel are like the name implies - soft. Almost creamy, which is unusual for this style. I brought some of these to a get together and someone commented that it was easy drinking. I had one a week ago and another now.

Not recommended. It's too late anyway, you probably couldn't find any, but it is too much of an experiment gone wrong.

A cloudy, pale straw with an interesting smell, I get apples and freshly mowed lawn, or maybe a bit of pear. Medium bodied with abundance of hops, dry but not overly dry. I'd call it crisp. Soft citrus flavor so mild it evokes a honey iced tea. Subtlety sweet and unique at the least.

 

 

 

From the can, it pours a hazy light amber with a nice white head that slowly reduces and leaves a good bit of lacing. Citrus in the nose. In the mouth, it is relatively light and, well, soft, with notes of citrus and some wheat. Slight bitter aftertaste.

 

 

 

Collective Arts Brewing "Ultra Soft IPA"
1 Pint can, coded "05 OCT 2020 21:55 C55" and sampled on 12/25/20
$4.49 @ ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Wildwood, FL

Notes via stream of consciousness: Kind of funny label design that looks like an empty toilet paper roll but hmmmmm... now that I think about it maybe that's not very appetizing. The label reads "DIPA W/ CASHMERE, HALLERTAU BLANC & MOSAIC HOPS, OATS & WHEAT". It's poured a hazy but not sure hazy or cloudy golden body beneath a finger's width of bright white foam. The aroma isn't the boldest but it's sufficient. I'm getting citrusy notes with orange and soft grapefruit over a basic malt base. The taste shows more wheat in the malt than the aroma lets on, and it's just softly orange-like with an even smaller amount of grapefruit although there is some additional lemon. It's a touch honey-ish, and I'm also finding a light note of black tea and herbs in the finish. There's a slight acidity to it that helps to balance it along with a median bitterness. It seems overall like wheat-honey-lemon to me but if you keep looking there's actually more to it. I'm now finding some red berry, mango, passion fruit, grassiness, and even a hint of bubblegum. I LIKE IT! So what else... ? The head didn't hold up real well but it did leave some nice lacing, and in the mouth it's medium bodied and softly crisp with a fine-bubbled carbonation. It really is soft and smooth. I have to go two thumbs up on this one. It's not a knock-out beer, but in the end everything adds up and it's got a lot of character to it. It's accessible, easy to drink, and yet interesting enough that you won't get bored with it even after two or three servings. Worth trying for sure.
Review #7,138

Look: Pours a slightly hazy but still translucent golden yellow with a one finger, soapy white head. Minimal lacing.

Aroma: Herbal tangerine, almost like the flowers or leaves of a tangerine tree and not necessarily the fruit. Cream of wheat, mildly bitter lemon peel, sweet orange and vanilla. Light note of pineapple and toffee.

Taste: Fairly plain, except on the finish, it does open up after some time though. Upfront it's tropical, fruity and bitter with somewhat doughy notes of caramel and oats. It's rich and sugary. There's a very mild touch of bitter lemon and pine again before going sweet/dry with flavors of juicy pineapple and oranges. As the beer opens up and aerates more intricate notes of fruit cake emerge. 8% Alcohol level is noticeable, adding a dry somewhat hot sensation to the experience.

Feel: The mouthfeel is true to the name, it's very pillowy and fluffy, but not necessarily "light" as it still has a moderately dense body.

Overall: I thought it was odd the alcohol was so prevalent and yet the body was so silky and the mouthfeel was so smooth. Decent showcase of flavors and a good beer for sure, but I'm not certain this is really what I want from a beer. The flavor is very mellow in proportion to the alcohol profile and soft mouthfeel (although it no doubt tastes good). I think if they dialed back the ABV a touch this could be something really exceptional.

 

 

 

Pours a slightly hazy light yellow straw color with a fizzy small short lived head.

Smells of pine and citrus fruits. Tastes of citrus with a bit of wheat malt tanginess. Has a slightly bitter finish.

Light body and carbonation. Light fresh dry crisp mouthfeel.

This is a mild dangerously drinkable IPA. Close to what others call brut.

Glad that curiosity got me to tryout this from a Vt brewer that I have never heard of!

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 10/08/2020. Pours a cloudy straw yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves plenty of thick streaks of lace with nice retention. 4

Smell is white grapes, melon, peach, biscuit, and passionfruit. 3.75

Taste follows getting a bunch of white grapes, honeydew, peach, clove, and passionfruit. 3.75

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, a tad dry, plenty of carbonation, and once you get used to the slightly odd and unique flavor it goes down easy at 8%. 4

Overall I probably wouldn’t get this again, but still a well crafted and interesting DIPA. 3.75

 

From a pint can into a Perfect Pint glass, this one is hazy yellow with a small amount of precipitating carbonization fueling a large foamy bright white head. Nose of distinctive citrus hops: grapefruit, blood orange and hints of mango. Mouth is nicely bitter up front but less citrusy than nose. There’s still a solid presence of orange, grapefruit, and general citrus flavor, as well as some nice breadiness which contrasts with the hops. Finishes dry and bitter. Mouth is crisp and refreshing. Overall, very good. It doesn’t really excel in any particular category, but is a solid brew. Would definitely try again.