Cloudbusting #9
Grimm Artisanal Ales

 

strong hop taste all thru the drink great to enjoy

 

 

 

Grimm Artisanal Ales "Cloudbusting #9"
16 fl. oz. can, "CANNED ON 03/07/2022 15:18:46". Sampled on 04/12/2022.
$5 @ Cherry Hill Wine, Liquor & Beer, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's got a great label, not that that has anything to do with the beer inside the can. It's a double IPA at 8%, and it's brewed with Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka, and Southern Cross hops. So I have a question, why do brewers who are using New Zealand hops tend to group them together? That doesn't really make any sense to me; you should use hops just for what they give you, not where they came from. Anyway, it's poured a cloudy golden-orange body beneath a full head of white foam. The aroma is unusual. It's woody, spicy, oil-like, piney, earthy, peppery and citrusy/fruity with gooseberry, passionfruit, dried lemon zest, and citrus pith. The taste is far more fruity with notes of white grape, gooseberry, grapefruit, passionfruit, guava, and lychee. The woody spiciness remains but the fruitiness becomes dominant. It's a little hard to argue against this New Zealand hop combination as it is but I'll still stand with my former statement. This is an interesting and unusual beer due to the hops. The malt is pretty basic, and although I'm fairly certain that there's some wheat and oats in there I can't really tell. A median bitterness balances it, and along with some hop bite and a spritz of alcohol it finishes dry and hoppy. The head held up fairly well at first, and then after dropping it help up what it had left remarkably well. I still have a thin but solid surface covering. The lacing is enough to pull it into the 4.25 out of 5 category. In the mouth it's medium-bodied and smooth with a gentle bristle upfront but lots of proteins to lend it smoothness on the end. So, what shall I say about this beer overall? Number one, it's unique because of the hops chosen and how they were used. Two, it's really nicely balanced between bitterness, malt sweetness, hop acidity, overall acidity, and alcoholic heat. Three, it's flavors are well rounded. It checks all the boxes for look, smell, taste, and feel but it goes beyond that as it's not just your average double IPA. For some reason I feel this would go really well with a thin crust pepperoni pizza.
Review #7,875

 

Can from Whole Foods on the UES NYC. Pours a hazy orange gold with a finger of creamy white head that dissipates, nice lacing, smell is diesel gooseberry, intense citrus sorbet, lemon/lime/orange/ grapefruit zest, hints of mango, papaya, tropical fruit juice, taste is gooseberry, tomatillo, lemon and orange custard, grapefruit zest, citrus hard candy, mildly pithy finish, hints of tropical fruit, sour cream and onion/mashed potatoes, feel is medium bodied, sharp carbonation, dry, mild hop burn. Big gooseberry and citrusy tropical fruit candy.

 

Pours a hazy dirty blonde with white head. Musty white grape and lychee on the nose. There's kind of a strawberry banana Yogplait character to this. Some white grape, bubblegum, and black pepper in there as well. Very well rounded mouthfeel. An excellent DIPA.