The La La
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

16 oz. can. Hazy orange. Smells of orange and... Banana? Big tropical fruit in this one. Mango and pineapple. But it definitely smells like a banana was tossed into the smoothie. Tastes of much sharper fruits and alcohol. Some white grape, light herbals, then tangy fruit. Less tropical, more acidic. Moderate sweetness. A touch of banana here, but not the same smoothie flavor as it had in the nose. Medium heavy. As weird as banana is, i can't say it doesn't smell great. Taste doesn't quite pan out. Never elevates itself above the throngs of hazy, acidic IPAs.

 

16oz undated can.

Pours cloudy yellow with an inch of white fluff. Persistent retention with spongy lacing. Pungently tropical and dank in the nose. Pineapple, peach, tangerine, and weed. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel. Juicy, dank tropicals on the palate with minimal malt or bitterness. Peach, pineapple, and orange on the palate. Finishes with lingering tropicals and a hint of bubblegum.

Can from Jeff, thanks again
Hazy bright orange grapefruity color with a decent sized frothy white head that persists. Orange pineapple and tropical notes with bits of sweet bread and light spicy resin.

Pours cloudy orange color with a 1 finger thick foamy off-white head that faded very slowly and left great foamy lacing coating the glass as well as foamy rings as it went down. The nose is dank and full of tropical fruit with citrus notes such as tangerine, grapefruit, lime, tangerine, orange juice, pineapple, apricot, honeydew melon, some piney notes, floral hops and then biscuit, rum or syrup soaked grains, light peppery spices like coriander and tea leaf, and then trailing tropical notes like star fruit or apple skins. This was a really nice well balanced nose.

Tastes like pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, lime, orange juice, mango, toasted grains, caramel, tea leaf, earthy notes and peppery spices, tropical fruit, apple skins, dry chalky yeast, dry crackers, floral hops and malty aspects like wet cardboard. It’s juicy and yet balanced at the same time with a mild level of bitterness, hiding the 8% ABV quite well.

 

This was yet another beer that I picked up at Other Half and took a while to get around to. The other collaborations between these two beasts were wonderful and that was the case with this too as it didn't last in my pint glass for very long and was a quality beer from start to finish!

Deep, deep peach to this beer as it was darker in the middle than on the outside. with enough head topping it off although it wasn't that extensive. Once the soft bubbles settled, most of the lacing left behind was as a thin, but deep, ring near the top of my pint glass. Oats, lime, apricot, tropical fruit, and nectarine sweetness were in the nose as all of these came through in the taste in some form. Turbid citrus juice, deep floral notes, and a heavy green shone through once this warmed up as the Galaxy took hold and never quite let go. A subtle, lingering minty feel lingered once I finished this off as there were hints of weed and tobacco that also stayed around.

Just the right amount of booze was here as I could feel a bit of it but it never felt out of place or excessive. The fruit cocktail dankness that stuck with me was what tied everything in together but there was enough else going on to give this plenty of depth and variance. Canned on 3/12/19 with "I NEED A WEST LA GIRL" written above it, this was a beer from this neck of the woods with plenty of hops and depth to separate it from the pack. The end result was a brew that was quietly engrossing and worth another go-around, if I had another can on hand!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz. can dated 3/12/19, won in auction. Poured into Kane tulip glass.

L: 2F head with OK retention, leaves some sheets of lacing low to the surface and a cap and ring. Beer is a turbid orange.

S: Serious fruitbomb. Pineapple and other tropical fruits, oranges, tangerines, lime peel. Light cracker malts. Some pine and earth.

T: Almost old-school in its earthiness and bitterness in the more recent quest for low IBUs and rounded flavors. Ripe tropical and citrus fruits give way to pine, earth, herbal finish. Seriously hopped. Very reminiscent of Green, but more complex.

F: Moderate body, mild carbonation. Constructed and reasonably well-balanced - people will very on the bitterness and perhaps the ABV shows more than it ought to at 8%.

O: Major-league, complex New England IPA.

Pouring the color of Kern's peach nectar from a growler. Decent beige head and lacing gives the impression of a frothy smoothie. The aroma of red grapefruit, papaya, apricot, and pineapple supplements that supposition. Taste is subdued by an English Breakfast tea extinguishable accompanied by baby soft pine, catmint, vanilla, and caramelized honeydew. The body is thick, but juicy; the feel is soft and fluffy even on a cloudy day.