Lil’ Bitsssss
Cellarmaker Brewing Co.

 

 

I usually don't very much enjoy fruited IPAs or fruited beers in general, but this Lil' Bitsssss (with 5 Ss, apparently) is rightfully in a league of its own. Juicy oranges, lemon zest, guava-like tropical fruit, and hairy peach skin ooze out of the glass upon releasing it from its aluminum prison. Melon and hints of hubba bubba bubble tape join shortly thereafter, adding more variety to an already complex tapestry of aromas. All the individual aromas blend and harmonize without clashing or overpowering one another; I don't know how they did it, but the stone fruit is both fragrant and soft at the same time, and doesn't fade away within minutes of pouring like it tends to with other nose-heavy IPAs.

I know Cellarmaker technically makes NE-inspired IPAs now as well, but this beer seems like the best argument against it. Despite not being #hazebro, it presents the same high-hop flavor, low-bitterness profile that so many breweries on the wrong side of the Mississippi have staked their claim out of, while not looking like somebody dumped an entire case of Similac into the fermentation vat one day before canning/bottling with willful and wanton recklessness.

Yellow grapefruit, peaches, lemon zest, clementines, and bubble gum are the flavors I can still pick out while drunkenly typing out the rest of this review, with more grapefruit rinds adding a drying bitter dimension toward the end. As it was on the nose, all the flavors keep each other in check without one overpowering another.
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Medium-light bodied, crisp, with soft, gentle carbonation. A more substantial body with a juicier, pulpier consistency would probably tip this brew's grade from world-class to once-in-a-lifetime in my book.