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Greenpoint Beer & Ale Company

Picked this beer up at Greenpoint a while ago, finally getting around to it on this cold winter's night. Loved the can design and "old school" aspect of this beer, hearkening back to something out of the '80's that was crude and basic. Indeed, this was a textbook example of what an American IPA was and should be While not impressive, this was balanced and flavorful without being terribly groundbreaking or noteworthy and in short, this was a good example of what Greenpoint was capable of and how they should be better known among us imbibers!

Not a bad pour to this beer as it had a dank, melon hue with tons of dankness to the liquid. Plenty of head topped this off and there were a few thick, webbed rings of lacing along the back side of my pint glass. Lots of white peach, grape, and light citrus in the nose though the taste was a bit heavier and more balanced. The oats lent themselves to a nice body as the carbonation was light and the juiciness was present enough to give this a nice coating on my palate when all was said and done. A bit of oil and resin separated this from other Greenpoint beers and brews from these parts as this almost came across as a Pale Ale rather than an IPA.

There was enough booze in here but it wasn't easily felt and didn't warm me up when I had finished this off. Some beers can be great without hitting me over the head and this was certainly one of them. Possibly their best brew to kick back and relax with without having something mindless. Without a doubt, these guys are impressing me more and more as I work my way through their releases!

 

 

 

 

 

L -- A hazy light yellow that looks like slightly diluted orange juice, with a nice bubbly white head that reduces to a rim and a minuscule film on top.

S -- A nice peach/orange note. Right at opening, it had a very clear fresh hop pellet note, which to me is pleasant as a homebrewer, but may put others off. I quite enjoyed it.

T -- Flavor follows closely on the nose. There is a dankness to the flavor that I did not register in the aroma, as well a little pine. There's a nice bitterness that stands against the typical NEIPA appearance/initial notes, which I think is wonderful -- many NEIPAs focus too closely on the soft/juicy notes, but there should be some balance.

F -- Nice and soft, medium body with a slight zip to it. Definitely resinous, leaving a slight coating on the tongue.

O -- A very nice IPA. I am greatly enjoying the balance between bitterness and softer hop flavors.

I've only had the canned beers by this brewery so far but every one has been at minimum, very strong, with some reaching absolute world class status in my opinion. As such I can't help but feel they're being underrated in the current NYC beer scene - the fact that you can buy their beer in stores can't be helping that situation! They might not be the top of the heap but they're awfully close and are turning out product the equal of many more hyped producers.

But I digress. The beer at hand falls more into the very good rather than world class category. It pours a pale, slightly washed out gold with a decent cap of white foam that slowly falls; slightly fizzy looking head and patching lacing. Cloudy juice appearance as expected by the description. Overall perhaps the weakest point of the beer.

Not the most highly aromatic brew - mostly citrusy in character, with lots of orange to my nose, but not much complexity or depth here. The flavor is deeper and more intricate, again dominated by orange juiciness but bringing some dank, resinous undertones. Mildly tropical and suggestive of mango. Feel is medium to slightly light bodied, smooth and soft, but still with enough firm carbonation to give this a little crispness. Not bitter in the tasting but there's just enough lingering bitterness in the finish to tidy things up and remind one that this is beer and not juice, after all. Thankfully.

Highly enjoyable and well-crafted, with a fair amount of nimble elegance. This is the kind of beer which in weaker brewer's hands - and we've encountered a lot of them in this summer of canned NE IPA madness - comes off as one-note, watery and undefined, an imitation rather than the genuine article. Greenpoint beer and ale continue to impress.