Future Reflections
Finback Brewery - Glendale

 

 

 

 

I've pretty consistently enjoyed Finback's TIPA recipes, and I'm hoping this one is no different, though it does feature a slightly more polarizing hop selection than some of their others. I remember Caviar was one of the first beers I had ever heard of using "Cryo" hops back in like 2016/2017 or so, and now here we are with two different types of Cryo hops (Citra and Sabro) in one beer along with some support from Azacca and the aforementioned varietals' non-Cryo forms.

Pretty good pour on this one. Hazy but attractive with a nice, medium-shiny orange color that has some saturation despite the opacity of the body. Initial head formation is three or four fingers, but it quickly settles to a retentive albeit thin ring of about a half-finger after five or so minutes. Lacing is a bit weak compared to what I usually expect from these guys and this style in general, but it's not awful. Surface coverage is dense and packed with islands of buoyant foam, so that's nice. Kind of a "some good, some not-as-good" pour when comparing individual elements, but it comes together well enough.

The nose here is very, very nice. Super deep passion fruit, orange creamsicle, pineapple, and tangelo with just a hint of coconut and dankness backing up the tropical fruit underpinnings. I really enjoy some of the Cryo hop beers I've had, but some also get a bit lost because the Cryo versions of certain hops just don't seem to match what you'd think they would add, which almost gives off a "why would they use the same name for this as the pellet/whole cone version?" vibe sometimes. I am happy to say that I definitely get both Sabro and Citra here, and I even think this is a well-utilized Azacca addition, too. The pineapple is really detailed and a welcome note that I think adds a fun layer to the scent of this one.

Gotta say, I knew from my first sip that this would be a tasty, yet dangerous, beer. It's pure tropical fruit juice on the tongue with just a hint of grassiness and herbal spice in the very finish. Leading up to that, however, is pineapple, passion fruit, ripe mango, papaya juice, and tangelo rind with some smooth coconut notes in the mid-palate, mingling with a good dose of bright and punchy maltiness that helps balance the hop intensity. Feel is nice and heavy, as expected, but it doesn't drink with too much heft that it isn't enjoyable; quite the opposite, really... this is a rather quenching and interesting juice bomb with some nice, detailed bitterness to it. Highly recommended, like most of Finback's strong IPA output.