Vic Secret + Mosaic
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

 

 

 

 

 

After a while, a lot of Other Half's offerings seems to seamlessly meld into each other - all of them being enjoyable but not quite the same as the ones that were previously released. That was the case here as this beer was smooth, juicy, and unassuming but had enough going for it that it still emptied out pretty quickly!

Not a bad pour to this as the liquid was golden, dank, and topped off with a head sufficient enough for the liquid below it. A bit of sediment ended up at the bottom of my Teku glass but it was hard to see given the opaque nature of this. Grass, lemon, citrus, some tropical notes, and yeast were in the nose with all of those in the taste. Full, rounded, and balanced, this had enough body to offset the dank, melon undertone that this took as it warmed up. A bit of tea-like spice came in at the end as there was plenty of vanilla cream in here as well. That kept this light but thankfully, the sweetness was complementary and not overpowering!

There was enough booze in this but it only lent itself to a mild warming effect of this beer. The bottom of the can was dated 9/14 with "MEKKA HINEY HO" written underneath it but as odd as it was, that was the most outlandish aspect of this. If you're a fan of Other Half's offerings, you'll enjoy this one as it's in line with the rest of them. A nice blend of two hops that came across as quite harmonious!

 

 

Received as an extra in a trade.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip what had been a crystal clear golden hue until a massive yeast sludge flopped into it resulting in haze and a tremendous amount of particulates. Even if this can is a month old it shouldn't have been THAT bad.

S - Aromas of little bit of spritzy grassy/floral hop and a little bit of lemon. Faint, faint grapefruit. Some almost musty spicy citrus as well.

T - Taste is similar to the nose. Nice citrus notes particularly lemon. Big melon flavour as well, Very bright and almost tropical. The floral aspect is quite pleasant as well. Really pleasant spicy earthy hop on the finish, though it does clash a little bit with the melon that finally comes through at the very end.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, slightly crisp, medium bodied.

O - Overall this was a very solid DIPA offering, however, I think there are aspects of the mosaic that does clash with the vic secret. The unsavory amount of particulate in this beer though really hurts it for me. A shame.

Serving Type: Can

 

 

 

Pours cloudy yellow gold color which looks like pineapple juice with a 1+ finger thick foamy white head that faded very slowly and left really good foamy lacing coating the sides.

Smells of fresh zesty citrus with lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, and then melon, pineapple and guava, followed by soft floral notes, fruity candy like gummy worms and green apple. Very tropical aroma which allows some caramel or light malty accents to pop up before more citrus and spicy floral notes linger as it fades. Complex and really nice to inhale, it's similar to sticking your nose in a bowl with cut open citrus fruit and wet hops.

Tastes like a refined hop bomb. It's super juicy and hits with some sharp bitterness, but it still manages to be complex, balanced and very easy to drink. Like the nose the flavor is packed with citrus fruit including grapefruit, tangerine, orange peel, pineapple, lemon, peaches, and then it shifts toward floral hops with coriander and light peppery spices. The malt is more evident with biscuit, graham cracker, grainy notes and some brown sugar or caramel rounding out the sweetness. Almost seems leafy and earthy at time, but then the citrus snaps it all back in place.

Mouthfeel is smooth and almost creamy with a mild level of bitterness. It had mellow to average carbonation, an average weight or feel to it for a DIPA, then a nice sweet aftertaste that leaves a coating on the tongue which left a graham cracker finish, which was a nice surprise.

Overall another great beer from Other Half. This married the 2 hops well and the combo of floral notes, melon and juicy citrus hops kept it interesting and tasty in every sip. There's something unique about it that I can't nail down in words except to say that I really enjoyed this.

 

 

 

 

once again, davidsoul making my other half hoppy dreams come true. thanks again for the regular flow of suds!!!

can from about 2 weeks ago, split w the mrs. classic other half juicy murk. that NE ipa haze. nose bursts w dense hop. taste is wonderful. mosaic is so good and the vic secret thickens up the taste with sheets and layers of hoppiness. awesome. love the 2 hop series and other half kills it lately.