Compartmentalized
Finback Brewery - Glendale

Can: Poured a hazy/cloudy yellow color ale with a medium white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of citrusy hoppy notes with some juicy mango floral hops undertones. Taste is also a good mix of citrusy hoppy notes with some juicy mango floral hops undertones notes and some light residual sugar notes. Body is full with good carbonation. Interesting NEIPA with nice use of juicy hops and light tropical notes.

 

8.4% new release

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new NEDIPA from Finback, Compartmentalized features some fun new hops and a couple hold standbys that seem to make their way into a ton of good DIPAs worth their salt. This seemed like a really fun one, so I wanted to give it a shot despite Finback's spottiness lately.

The pour is just straight-up pale oat juice, no beating around the bush. Slight head formation of milky white on top of the opaque intensity, but it quickly sinks down to a quarter-finger. What remains at this point lasts permanently, showing off some alright legs and slight wisps of lace. Hey, this isn't a beautiful beer by any means, but it definitely fits into the haze craze, so if that's your thing, you might like it. I think it could stand to carry some structural improvements into the next iteration if there is one, though I doubt there will be, since Finback turns over new IPAs every two minutes or so and only revisits a few here and there.

The initial nose reminds me a lot of a newer beer by Sixpoint called Shatter, which featured a hop called Strata, but with a lot more crispness and less syrupy sweetness, which is a good thing. This features two other new varietals called Cashmere and Meridian, alongside staples Mosaic and Citra. I've had both before in various beers but I don't think I've experienced them together. Cashmere tends to feature some spice notes, tropical fruit, and a bit of coconut, while Meridian is known for bright citrus ("lemon oil" included, making it kinda different from the typical orange/grapefruit notes in citrusy hops) and berry with some tropical underpinnings. I pick up a good bit of blackberry, spruce tips, funky dankness, orange juice, lemon zest, pineapple, and papaya with light sniffs of ethanol beneath. This smells great, honestly. It does a lot of things well and seems super fun and lively. Very few IPAs I've had recently touch this in terms of pure quality of aroma, but it's also quite all-over-the-place. If you're a fan of more typical NEIPA elements, this may not be something you want.

Just as enjoyable on the tongue, for sure... what a relief. Was hoping Finback wouldn't blow it here, and this does its job well, so I'm happy. Flavors of mango, guava, blackberry/raspberry, pineapple, musky melon, and orange juice along with some light lemon/lime zest shavings toward the finish. Superb stuff here. There's a lot to take in and it all coalesces well. Smooth drinking with low-medium carbonation and a good, coating, oily feel throughout each sip. Would definitely enjoy drinking a four-pack of this one. The Finback gamble is a real thing, but as long as they do stuff like this more often than not, I'm willing to give it a shot. High marks!