Dual Spectrum
Finback Brewery - Glendale

 

-turgid rose-purple can pour with 1 cm of foam atop.
The aroma is fruity and tart.
The flavor is dominated by raspberry, boysenberry and currant aspects. This is not sweet or tropical. The hop bitterness is moderate. There is also a tartness in the flavor.
The finish is somewhat dry.
This is a fruited ipa with a lot of fruit.
-not a full-on sour ipa,
- not a swirly , sweet brew.
I’d really like this on a summer afternoon, rather than in this snowscape.

Overpowering fruit flavors with a sour taste finish.

Impressed that I didn't need to add this one, as it feels like I've been constantly adding new Finback beers this year. Oh well, good on whoever got this one into the database. Dual Spectrum is an IPA with Citra, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops. More importantly/interestingly, it also features black currant and passionfruit. Best of all, though, is that it doesn't feature any lactose or vanilla, so it's not some kind of milkshale fruited IPA abomination; it's just an IPA with fruit and a good hop bill. I hope it pans out well; I don't want to eat these strong words.

The pour is, um... dumb. It looks like a freaking Bloody Mary. Hazy, super-turbid reddish-pink-orange colored liquid topped off with a goofy, smallish head that fades quickly to a thin, soapy ring of quarter-finger suds and leaves behind no lace whatsoever. Not sure how this should be rated, but it's really not traditionally attractive by any means whatsoever, so... yeah, nah.

The nose is good, however, and I'm again really glad this isn't some dumb milkshake thing. It pops with strong floral and grassy notes combining well with light tropical elements from the passion fruit (working well with the Citra/Mosaic, no doubt) and subtle but evocative currant aspects in there as well. It's maybe not as aromatic as it could be given everything happening, but perhaps that complexity is what keeps it from achieving higher quality. I will say that the fruit additions are pretty well-represented and I almost expect this to be a "dry-hopped fruited sour" in a sense.

On the palate, Dual Spectrum shifts gears a little and punches pretty early with a huge hit of hoppy goodness that lingers well into the mid-palate, bringing out strong flavors of prickly pear, lychee, passion fruit, mango, and papaya before the finish once again smothers everything with a dose of intense, dank bitterness. The dryness brought on by the black currant addition really knocks the palate out here, leading to a somewhat rougher-than-expected drinking experience, honestly, and the feel is super thin and weirdly angular for the ABV, meaning this isn't as successful as it could have been. That said, it's still a fun and experimental drink for those looking for unusual fruited IPAs. Not sure if many people will have access to this and I doubt they'll rebrew it but... give it a shot if it sounds cool to you.