Once Twice Three Times A Whale
Finback Brewery - Glendale

 

 

 

 

 

We went to a finback tap takeover at milk and hops in nyc and tried 8 of the taps. This was definitely our favorite. Great ipa. Hazy, juicy, smooth, good bite. Nice light straw color, right amount of carbonation. Good stuff.

 

 

Canned on 7/10. Tried on 8/7 to 18OZ Birrateque IPA Glass.
Hazy and slightly dark yellow. 2 fingers head.
Apricot, mango, pineapple aroma is great.
Great balance of Mango, tropical fruitiness and Hops bitterness last long time.
Even 8.2% ABV does not feel alcoholic taste at all. This is good.
Creamy but crisp.

 

Just grabbed a four-pack of this one today for the low, low price of $20. Yikes. Well, let's hope it's good! Once Twice Three Times A Whale is a double IPA loaded with Citra hops. It was brewed with whole-leaf, then dry-hopped with Citra cryo hops/lupulin powder as well as, presumably, Citra pellets as well. That's quite the dose. Let's see how it comes together.

Pours a super-turbid, pretty-much-opaque creamy light-orange color with a rather sizable head that builds up with around two fingers of solid eggshell-white foam before sinking down to a single finger or so. Solid legs show up here along with some light lace patterns. Overall, I dig the appearance here but I don't think it's likely to win any awards for this aspect. It's pretty similar to most hazy NEIPAs, though perhaps even denser looking. Wish there was more striking lace and a little more foam stability here, though, as the center of my glass is only sparsely decorated with bubbles.

The nose is tangy, raw and herbaceous, with light notes of mango and catty guava coming across pretty handily. Light notes of honey and rye spice peek out here and there, but this is definitely mostly about Citra. I like the less citrus-y approach here, ironically; the scent of this beer is much more mellow than expected, though it does have a nice complexity to it. It's a little doughy/yeasty too, but I really like the herbal notes upfront; they lend a uniqueness that I don't usually expect from Citra. Definite elements of freshly-fallen pinecones and pine sap here as well. Slightly juicy as well, with some undertones of pineapple and grapefruit, but those aspects really are pushed fairly far back.

Flavor profile is juicier than expected based on the nose, with mango, papaya, tangerine and mandarin orange flavors taking up the majority of the front of my palate. Smoothie-like carbonation (that is to say, not very much in the way of bubbles) with a mid-palate that switches over to a hefty oat backbone before the finish swoops in to deliver spice, pine and herbal elements without drowning out the fruitiness delivered up front. Very cool, drinkable beer... I don't get any of the 8+% ABV here, either, which is dangerous. Finback can sometimes under-deliver a little bit with these bigger IPAs, but this one is worth the pretty penny I spent on it.

 

 

 

 

Canned on 7/10/18

This one pours a totally hazy dulled yellow, reminding a bit of a lemon sorbet. A small white head forms shortly before dissipating and leaving speckled bits of lacing around the glass.

The aroma is intriguing, building from a strong foundation of deeply herbal, earthy hops to some bright and funky citrus tones; there's plenty of grass, fresh earth, bits of pine, overripe orange, lemon, pineapple rind, and a tiny bit of lactic funk with some floral undertones.

The taste levels out from the aroma, bringing in plenty of balanced raw vegetation notes, a bright amalgamation of dank tropical fruit, and slight tones of malty wheat and rye. Quite a bit going on here; the flavors are almost risky, but stay comfortable.

Mouthfeel carries a nice crispness for an 8.2% DIPA. It's dry and on the lower end of the carbonation scale, but in spite of feeling watery at times, it provides a solid platform for the myriad of flavors in this one.

If nothing else, you can always guarantee an experience when trying out a Finback brew. This one had alot going on, but ultimately toned down quite a bit by the finish. A solid brew nonetheless, though, even if it didn't have the consistency to really push the envelope.