Helo
Finback Brewery

HeloHelo
Beer Geek Stats
From:
Finback Brewery
 
New York, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
4.13 | pDev: 4.12%
Reviews:
1
Ratings:
2
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 13, 2023
Added:
Nov 06, 2022
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
DIPA dry hopped with Citra, Nelson, Idaho 7 and Belma.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of AzfromOz
Reviewed by AzfromOz from Australia

3.96/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
From the Carwyn One subscription pack December 2022. Drunk in January 2023.

The review below is from NBW #132. It's a little fluffy, self-indulgent and cringeworthy, so read on at your peril.

I've not started one of these threads before and I'm not sure of the protocol, but its the weekend, I have a new beer, and I want to write about it. Sound ok? If not, please don't @ me.

Before I review, first some context. I'm turning 50 this year, and as years pile in the rearview mirror and the road ahead remains shrouded and devoid of prescience, I find myself more often embraced in the seductive grip of reminiscence. Today, unbidden, came thoughts of the girl ultimately destined to be the one who got away, and in particular, how at our first encounter I had no interest in her, and no way of knowing the avalanche of first love was about to hit me. Similarly, this beer took a while to get my attention, but once it did, boy oh boy...

Now stop rambling and focus, Az. The beer is Helo by Finback Brewery out of Queens in New York. I came across it as part of a subscription pack that focusses on hard-to-get beers for the Aussie beer nerd who has it all. I don't claim to have it all, but I do claim to be an Aussie beer nerd.

At first blush the beer wears an opaque, light custard-yellow covering with a rocky white head. There's nothing appealing about it. It looks more smoothie than beer but is not brightly in-your-face enough to excite the Insta Kids while offering nothing to the jaded old hopheads looking for a clear, bright, west coast saviour. But I also remember she wore a pair of blue denim overalls to our first date, with her hair held back in a ponytail, evincing nothing more than awkward shyness. There was nothing there to pique my interest either. Still, I was asked out and I was happy to be there, just as I'm glad to have a beer in front of me now after a long and trying week.

On the nose, there's the expected tropical bouquet, with guava, papaya and lychee standing out to my nose. That's so 2023, and there's nothing here to particularly excite my senses. But on closer inspection there's a little bit of dankness in there, and that holds my interest. Is it a deep, piney lime? I'm not sure. The beer has flicked its shyest smile at me - hinting that there's more promise here than I'd thought. I remember looking at her hands as they nervously clutched her glass of cider. They were so delicate, so feminine. I was enthralled. I wanted to touch them. Interest had been grabbed and I needed to know more.

...and know more I shall. The taste jumps straight out of the glass as a dieselly hop burn that sticks to the roof of my mouth and pokes me all the way down my gullet. It's not unpleasant, but it's dominant. As the burn settles and the warmth seeps deep inside me, that piney lime note I mentioned earlier stands out above the tropical milieu. The bitterness kicks in and settles initially, comfortably, on the side of my tongue, taking on notes of grapefruit and peel. This is not quite an IBU monster of the 00s but it feels comfortable, like a well-worn favourite old pair of blue denim overalls... As the first drink became the second and third we both settled into comfortable nothing chat. Interest had been locked. We became easy with each other.

The beer's mouthfeel is prickly and smooth all at once. It's the classic Reverand's daughter, meek while daddy's looking but look out when he's not. There's a slight numbness creeping over the inside of my mouth, battered, I think, by what is now unashamedly unrelenting bitterness and hop burn. My stomach is warm enough to happily curl up against, and the general warmth from this bitey, aggressive beer, permeates all my senses. I'm quite happily mellow, just as we were as we said goodbye and she jumped in a taxi. But am I good enough to score a second date with such a beer, and such a girl? I reckon I might jump in the taxi too and see how it goes...

This is a challenging beer; it's a date that looks like an early-ender but ends up in a backseat taxi pash at 3am. This beer is what I crave these days: a bitter, retro IPA, but with enough of a nod to 2023 juice expectations that it ends up with the best of both worlds. I was bummed when this beer and that date came to an end but there was ripe possibility in that farewell. The cheeky final toss of the can to make sure I grabbed the last bit of juicy, bitter goodness was my hail Mary for a second date. Who knows what the answer will be?

The answer was yes, 30-odd years and another lifetime ago. Today, after finishing this beer and revelling in nostalgia, the answer remains the same. This is a bloody good beer!

Cheers!
#192
Feb 13, 2023
 
Rated: 4.31 by Abe_Froman from Massachusetts

Nov 25, 2022
Helo from Finback Brewery
Beer rating: 4.13 out of 5 with 2 ratings