Surround Sound Art Reserve
Collective Arts Brewing

The pint can was emptied entirely into a clear glass liter mug. Plenty of a white head was produced, but it receded quickly leaving very little. Its color is dull apricot-amber and it's opaque. It's not very aromatic. Other than a sharply bitter hoppiness, maybe piney in reference, there's not much there at all. That's also most of the taste. Things don't improve much with its taste. The hop bite is nicely bitter, yet there's something off-putting about it. It tastes of alcohol and something medicinal. Without any real taste balance from the starches, it can't get more flavorful, nor balanced than that. Those hoppy characteristics only intensify at the finish, which is usually agreeable to hop heads, but in this case, it almost makes the bitterness taste artificial. Maybe that's what HBC 1019 Hpps do. The mouthfeel is better than would be expected, considering the lack of a malty inclusion to the taste. As noted, there is an alcohol presence within the taste, but that's not the problem here. There was scant, but somehow stratified glass lacing left behind to add a modest plus to that rating. Overall, it's not a must have at all, but given this, or an overly starched "juicy" IIPA, this probably comes out ahead.