The Substance | Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
Brewed by:
Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
Maine, United States
bissellbrothers.com
Style: New England IPA
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 6.60%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Our flagship; a brightly dank ale that threads many needles.
Hops: Falconer's Flight, Centennial, Apollo, Summit, Chinook
Malts: 2-row, flaked Wheat, Flaked oats, Flaked Barley
OG: 1.060
Added by Bowdoinbeerboy on 12-11-2013
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 1,640 | Reviews: 214
4.52/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to my friend Evan for getting me this one
48 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to my friend Evan for getting me this one
48 characters
4.28/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.57/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.24/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
The beer has this bright white head that is foamy and creamy. The head is two fingers thick and slowly dissipated and left no lacing on the glass. The beer is 45 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The color of the beer is SRM 3 a pale straw with yellow hues. The clarity of the beer is moderately clear with a touch of haziness. The head is a ring around the glass. Overall the beer is has a good appearance.
The initial aromas in the beer are oranges, mango, pineapple, and a touch of lemon. Next, I get herbal, biscuit, bread, resin, and toasted malts.
I first taste get oranges, floral, pineapple, and lemons. Next, I get grapefruit, resin, biscuit, pine, musty, toasted malt, and yeast.
The mouthfeel of the beer is astringent and sharp.
The body of the beer is medium, medium carbonation, and a long finish.
The beer is a good IPA but needs a stronger backbone to support the huge hop profile. This beer is just good for me. The label this beer a NEIPA but I am not getting the juicy fruit notes that are associated with this beer.
1,051 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
The beer has this bright white head that is foamy and creamy. The head is two fingers thick and slowly dissipated and left no lacing on the glass. The beer is 45 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The color of the beer is SRM 3 a pale straw with yellow hues. The clarity of the beer is moderately clear with a touch of haziness. The head is a ring around the glass. Overall the beer is has a good appearance.
The initial aromas in the beer are oranges, mango, pineapple, and a touch of lemon. Next, I get herbal, biscuit, bread, resin, and toasted malts.
I first taste get oranges, floral, pineapple, and lemons. Next, I get grapefruit, resin, biscuit, pine, musty, toasted malt, and yeast.
The mouthfeel of the beer is astringent and sharp.
The body of the beer is medium, medium carbonation, and a long finish.
The beer is a good IPA but needs a stronger backbone to support the huge hop profile. This beer is just good for me. The label this beer a NEIPA but I am not getting the juicy fruit notes that are associated with this beer.
1,051 characters
4.54/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.59/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.28/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Canned on 10/26/2018 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours cloudy, bright tangerine color with a large, fluffy, bright white head and copious lacing inside the glass. The fragrant nose features lemon peel, tangerine, pine needles, and a crackery malt. The taste is a lot fruitier than the smell: tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, a hint of tropical fruit, along with oats, resinous pine, and a hint of caramel. The blend of Apollo, Centennial, Eureka, Chinook, and Falconer's Flight hops is very flavorful but not overly bitter. One of the best attribute of The Substance is its mouth feel: creamy and viscous with moderate carbonation, and an easy drinking 6.6% ABV. Overall, for a "flagship" single IPA, The Substance is really good! Anyone who gets distro of this gem should count themselves fortunate.
817 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Canned on 10/26/2018 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours cloudy, bright tangerine color with a large, fluffy, bright white head and copious lacing inside the glass. The fragrant nose features lemon peel, tangerine, pine needles, and a crackery malt. The taste is a lot fruitier than the smell: tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, a hint of tropical fruit, along with oats, resinous pine, and a hint of caramel. The blend of Apollo, Centennial, Eureka, Chinook, and Falconer's Flight hops is very flavorful but not overly bitter. One of the best attribute of The Substance is its mouth feel: creamy and viscous with moderate carbonation, and an easy drinking 6.6% ABV. Overall, for a "flagship" single IPA, The Substance is really good! Anyone who gets distro of this gem should count themselves fortunate.
817 characters
4.37/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.31/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pint can dated 10/26/18 poured into a tulip at 46F
Pours a hazy, but not murky or creamy looking honey orange. Two finger creamy white head sits atop the body, receding slowly, and leaving some lacing.
Nose is piney and citrus hops, with notes of grapefruit and oranges, with lesser notes of pineapple and mango.
Palate: The hops have a real west coast flavor style to them, but the bitterness is dialed WAY back, in true New English fashion. A little bit of dank earthiness as it warms. This is shockingly refreshing and crisp. A thin malt backbone and a good balance of hops for both flavor, and supreme drinkability. Finishes quick and dry with zero bitterness hanging around, and a slow fade of pine and grapefruit once again.
Mouthfeel is on the heaviest side of light. Just getting into medium territory. It's not thin and splashy, but it's also not a can of Julius. This is really somewhere in the middle. A creamy West Coast feel, or a thin New England feel. Carbonation is solid, on the slightly higher side compared to most NEIPAs. Dry and crisp.
Overall, this one is interesting. I was hoping for a thick NE juice bomb. That it is not. However, this is almost like the greatest West Coast style IPA that never was. It's juicy and and hoppy and utterly UN-bitter like a NEIPA, but it's crisp, refreshing, and uber drinkable, like a West Coast style. I don't know. If we're just calling this an IPA, it's absolutely fantastic. A wonderful (sjfkshfjk)IPA.
1,470 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pint can dated 10/26/18 poured into a tulip at 46F
Pours a hazy, but not murky or creamy looking honey orange. Two finger creamy white head sits atop the body, receding slowly, and leaving some lacing.
Nose is piney and citrus hops, with notes of grapefruit and oranges, with lesser notes of pineapple and mango.
Palate: The hops have a real west coast flavor style to them, but the bitterness is dialed WAY back, in true New English fashion. A little bit of dank earthiness as it warms. This is shockingly refreshing and crisp. A thin malt backbone and a good balance of hops for both flavor, and supreme drinkability. Finishes quick and dry with zero bitterness hanging around, and a slow fade of pine and grapefruit once again.
Mouthfeel is on the heaviest side of light. Just getting into medium territory. It's not thin and splashy, but it's also not a can of Julius. This is really somewhere in the middle. A creamy West Coast feel, or a thin New England feel. Carbonation is solid, on the slightly higher side compared to most NEIPAs. Dry and crisp.
Overall, this one is interesting. I was hoping for a thick NE juice bomb. That it is not. However, this is almost like the greatest West Coast style IPA that never was. It's juicy and and hoppy and utterly UN-bitter like a NEIPA, but it's crisp, refreshing, and uber drinkable, like a West Coast style. I don't know. If we're just calling this an IPA, it's absolutely fantastic. A wonderful (sjfkshfjk)IPA.
1,470 characters
4.59/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
3.69/5 rDev -14.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.27/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
16 oz can into IPA glass. Dated 10/4/18.
Look is great golden orange cloud. Smell is dank with citrus/fruit on top. Taste follows nose and ends with nice bitter grapefruit end. Feel is smooth and creamy. Overall an excellent NE IPA that has everything required for the style.
275 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
16 oz can into IPA glass. Dated 10/4/18.
Look is great golden orange cloud. Smell is dank with citrus/fruit on top. Taste follows nose and ends with nice bitter grapefruit end. Feel is smooth and creamy. Overall an excellent NE IPA that has everything required for the style.
275 characters
4.25/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
One of the best NEIPAs I’ve yet to have. Hazy orange with a dank smell and taste of papaya mango grapefruit guava. Great beer.
128 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
One of the best NEIPAs I’ve yet to have. Hazy orange with a dank smell and taste of papaya mango grapefruit guava. Great beer.
128 characters
4.36/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
3.99/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very nice beer, had it at the same session I was having a Treehouse Julius and preferred it to that. Smoother and more complex. That said, I wouldn't drive an hour to get it and stand in line for another 30 minutes, like the Julius experience. But if it was available with reasonable effort I'd definitely be keeping it in the rotation.
336 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very nice beer, had it at the same session I was having a Treehouse Julius and preferred it to that. Smoother and more complex. That said, I wouldn't drive an hour to get it and stand in line for another 30 minutes, like the Julius experience. But if it was available with reasonable effort I'd definitely be keeping it in the rotation.
336 characters
4.15/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Nice bright, hazy orange color, good head and retention.
Dank and citrus on the nose.
Taste is of stone fruit, citrus, and pine.
Medium body and carbonation.
I've had this a number of times, and it always strikes me as a good balance between bitter pine and some of the hazy citrus character. Plus, I can appreciate the dankness as another layer of complexity. Easy drinking beer for me despite the complexity.
415 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Nice bright, hazy orange color, good head and retention.
Dank and citrus on the nose.
Taste is of stone fruit, citrus, and pine.
Medium body and carbonation.
I've had this a number of times, and it always strikes me as a good balance between bitter pine and some of the hazy citrus character. Plus, I can appreciate the dankness as another layer of complexity. Easy drinking beer for me despite the complexity.
415 characters
The Substance from Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
4.32 out of
5 with
1,640 ratings
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