DDH Chromoscope
Finback Brewery - Glendale

 

 

DDH Chromoscope pours a hazy, light straw yellow with a full, creamy and complex 2-finger that lingers nicely delivering some nice lacing. The smell is big citrus with orange and grapefruit with a zip of zest and a deep dank pine. Let's see how it does down...a bit sweet up front from the orange and grapefruit with some tropical and stone fruit notes, finishing with with a touch of hop bitterness.

Pours a hazy and cloudy medium straw color, abundant foamy head that lingers for a long time and tastes amazing. Aroma is crisp citrus with some dankness in the background. Sweet at first, tons of awesome hop flavor: citrus, lemon, orange, some tropical fruit flavor, and some earthy dankness on the finish. Carbonation adds to a creamy texture. Overall an extremely delicious and drinkable DIPA. Didn’t realize this beer is 6 weeks old - tastes like it was just canned!

3/11/19
16 oz can from brewery dated 1/24//9
4.5 rating

Milky, dull orange color with a long lasting, creamy head. Smells of grapefruit and orange rind with a hint of Asian fruit. Sweet orange, grapefruit, apricot flavors with some spice and pine on the finish. Hops show up a bit late but are there and linger for a bit. Full bodied feel with a slight creamy texture.

 

A: The beer is very hazy to cloudy murky dark brownish yellow in color. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that left a narrow collar around the edge of the glass and bits of streaks of bubbles clinging to the edges.
S: Moderate aromas of stone fruit are present in the nose along with hints of citrus.
T: The taste has flavors of orange citrus, blueberries, and stone fruit. No bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels medium-bodied and slightly juicy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very murky in appearance but has a nice fruity taste. It would probably be best to drink this out of the can unless you aren't scared by the appearance of unfiltered beer.

Serving type: can

 

 

 

 

 

Another week, another DIPA from Finback... yet again! Not complaining. This one is just about two weeks old at the time of this review and it features Simcoe and Mosaic. I think I know what to expect, but I'm hoping to be blown away by how well-done it is. These guys have had enough experience with both varietals at this point that I'm expecting a knockout!

The pour is even uglier than I expected... I feel like Finback DIPAs these days kind of run the gamut from "alright, it's hazy but at least there's some good definition and the color/body look good when held up to light" all the way to "I almost don't want to look at this while drinking it," and this settles itself rather starkly toward the latter end of said spectrum. This is just straight up opaque, and it has a greenish, sickly tinge to it as well. Luckily, the head is rather stable at about two fingers with great legs and some nice, drippy lace patterns. Still... this is just the haziest of the hazy. Looks like swamp water.

However, it does NOT smell like swamp water! This smells delectable, in fact. Strong passion fruit and ripe mango aroma with some dankness and grassy qualities lingering about. Very tropical and juicy-smelling with hop pellet freshness and that ever-shifting Mosaic note going on. One sniff, I get ripe red berries, then blueberries, then apricot, then other stone fruits, back all the way to dank green-ness again. Very crazy and well-done. Whereas a lot of Mosaic focused stronger IPAs get lost, Simcoe does an excellent job wrangling it back into place with its expressive citrusy and pine-y heft. This is dope!

Refreshingly juicy on the tongue with a strong blackberry and pine component right up front. Creamy and dense mid-palate with no ethanol burn... medium carbonation and a dry yet hop-oil-laden finish. White wine-like tang and surprisingly heavy spruce elements combining with more fleshy apricot and guava. Tropical fruit all the way down... passion fruit and mango in the finish, though each sip feels a little more harsh than I'd prefer. Holy hell, this beer doesn't let up, though. Mosaic/Simcoe is one of my new favorite hop combos... if you thought Mosaic and Citra worked well together, this intense pairing will keep you on your toes throughout a glass of this brew. Love it. Would gladly get more. I wish it weren't so ugly, but everything else about it makes up for the aesthetic qualities that it lacks. Grab some!

 

Served in a snifter glass from the can.

Appearance: Transparent gold to Amber color with a uneven white head which initially rose under one finger's length and settles with sticky lacing to the glass.

Smell: Sweet citrus which makes you think of pink grapefruit with hints of orange.

Taste: Citrus fusion consisting of pineapple and orange with light piney to floral feel. Complex bitter and smooth.

Mouth: Sticky, medium carbonation with a full body and citrus finish.

Overall: Maybe the best finback beer I've had. Must grab if it crosses your eyes. Salud.