Perfect Strangers
Illumination Brewing / Funk Brewing

This one will put the finishing touch to finishing out sister (?) site, Untappd's "Better Together" badge. That one is given to collaboration beers in increments of five (5) per badge, leveling up to one-hundred (100) or five-hundred (500) DIFFERENT collab beers! This marks my ultimate collab beer in getting to that level. CAN you dig it? It's a CANQuest (tm) thing!

From the CAN: "Perfect Strangers Imperial India Pale Ale"; "Ever Grain Brewing Co. + Funk Brewing".

It is credited to Funk, who has their brewery in Emmaus, PA with a local county taproom in Elizabethtown ("E-town" to us locals) & Ever Grain, a superb brewery in Camp Hill, a short bus ride west of Harrisburg. I love both of them dearly & it is an honor to be able to honor them.

I beCAN by Crack!ing open the vent, followed by a slow, gentle C-Line Glug. Once I realized that clarity was an impossibility, I let it free-run until its foaming action forced me to back down & off. I was left with just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with excellent retention. Color was a cloudy/turbid Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose was very tropical with notes of mango, papaya, guava and pineapple. Mmm. I grew tired of tropical AIPAs/DIPAs following a steady diet of them, but now, I am back in the New York groove. Mouthfeel was big, full & creamy, like a dollop had been scooped into my mouth & onto my tongue. It also had a softness, like oats were involved, giving it a slickness as it seemed to shoot down my throat. The taste was very tropical, a liquefied Dole tropical fruit cup, if you will. Mmm. I stick with my initial four (4) - mango, papaya, guava & pineapple in terms of taste. Yum. The only thing was, at 7.9% ABV, it was drinking really quickly! Eeek. Time to take my foot off of the gas & slow down. Finish was semi-sweet, which has been one of my real bugaboos with the tropical IPAs of any stripe. The lack of bitterness is a downer, for me. YMMV.

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into a snifter. The beer is a gift from my brother. Ive enjoyed several brews from EverGrain so figure this one will be solid.
The beer pours a light golden color with some faint haziness. A bleached white creamy white head of 3 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy edge layer that clings to the edge of the glass throughout the sampling. There is also a strong surface covering that remains long after I pour the beer.
The aroma is lots of hops with pineapple and citrus notes with a bit of grassy and herbal notes too. Definitely a hop forward brew.
First sip reveals an average body with very fine and tingly carbonation. Pretty easy drinking brew.
Flavor is some grainy malt and then it rolls to citrus notes and a bit of pineapple sweetness. Then some slightly bitter herbal tea hops that linger after the swallow. The beer is easy drinking and I dont get any hint of the ABV at any point. A pretty crushable IPA that I am glad to have tried and would recommend to others.

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is murky straw gold, chunky sediment and yeast floating around, solid 2 finger top with fine to small bubbles; head lingers well with at least 1 finger residual and good lacing on the glass sides.

Smell is subdued but leans on tropical fruit, hints of mango, light malt.

Taste is light citrus and mango, light toasted malt, maybe some pine and earth.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation, stronger bittering feel on the tongue but softens quickly with a bit of drying.

Overall a good base beer that probably lends itself to a fresh from the brewery pour as some age seems to have softened its hop power. Malt flavor is low and hazy component is hidden well (oats? wheat? tough to distinguish).

 

 

Collab brew with Ever Grain. I like both Funk and Ever Grain so figured I'd give it a shot. Pours a slightly hazy blondish orange color, medium carbonation, about an inch of white head that dissipates in a couple of minute. A fair amount of yeast swirling around but doesn't really impact the mouthfeel, which is soft but not too thick. Lots of mango and pineapple in the nose and in the flavor but it's balanced with a nice malt backbone and good bitterness. I like the combo of Azacca and Simcoe hops in this brew.

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz can poured into a pub-style pint.

Appearance
Hazed-out dirty blonde. I saw some hefty chunks of yeast swim around the edge of the glass. Short off-white head.

Nose
Mango, papaya, peach, passion fruit, blueberry, dank, and candy sugar.

Taste
Tangerine, orange citrus, and grapefruit zest. Mango and papaya. Lighter notes of peach and passion fruit. Dank and resinous pine. Thin candy sugar backbone.

Mouthfeel
Medium bodied, crisp, juicy, semi-dry, and lightly bitter.

Overall
A balanced blend of citrus, tropical fruits, and pine. Well done!