Heavy Drop
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

RB transfer

16 ounce can into IPA glass, best before 6/23/2020. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy golden amber color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, red apple, white grape, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, pepper, pine, wheat, bread, and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Aromas improve as it warms. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness; and acidic tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, medium body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts, sticky hops, some resins, and light acidity in the mouthfeel. Increasing resin dryness with no astringency. Very smooth, nicely soft, minimal warming 7.2%. Great Mosaic and Simcoe profile. Very juicy, vibrant, and dank hops; with a clean wheat/oats backbone. Not seeing any lacto funk in here, assuming they just used the acid malt for the tartness. Otherwise it's a great IPA. More west coast than NE IMO. No complaints. This held up amazingly well.

 

 

 

 

Best by 6/23/20

Sour monkey is a staple around here, so it’s nice to see a sour IPA from these guys

Pours a cloudy pale yellow with 2 fingers of white head that reduces to a cap at a decent pace, minimal lacing

Some nice citrus up front in the aroma, tropical hops (mosaic?), a touch of pine, and some toasty malt. A bit perfumey overall

The sour comes through heavy on the front of the sip, not unlike sour monkey. Lactic and lemony, almost puckering, before the hops come in with a good balance of tropical feuit like pineapple and resiny pine

Moderate tingling carbonation and a medium body makes this go down super easy. Just short of dry on the finish, and lightly bitter

Nice to have something tart and hoppy at the same time, though this was not as sour as these kinds come. Very good nonetheless, smooth for the abv

Victory did this beer very well. I guess its sort of a Brut/ NEIPA mash up? Not sour really. Just a very interesting and tasty beer.

Drinking this at home due to the ongoing pandemic that prevents me from being able to get a proper pint of beer any where.
Poured from a can into a pint glass.
Appears hazy yellow with a nice foamy head.
Smells citrusy, orange, grapefruit, lemony, slightly crackery.
Taste follows the nose, with the lemon up front.
Mouth feel is medium plus for the style.
Overall the mouth feel and citrusy juicy aspect makes this like a NEIPA, but maybe a little too sour lemony for my taste. I'd definitely drink it again if I can ever find it on a tap!

 

Cloudy golden body with thin white head. Aroma of citrus, lemon, mango, papaya, grass, pine. Tastes of citrus with rind, papaya, light mango, grass, light pine, and fruity acidity, mild booze notes at the finish. Medium bodied with medium carbonation.

 

Sunshine yellow in color with a hazy, unfiltered appearance. Poured with a moderate, soapy, bright white foam with medium low retention. Pineapple and citrus aromas with notes of grapefruit rind, fruit and a light tartness. Medium bodied with medium light carbonation. Light creaminess through the middle with mellow warmth to the end. Fruity and malty flavors up front with pineapple and grapefruit notes in the background. Light tartness through the middle with returning fruity and malty flavors to the end. Finished with light fruity and malty note flavors with a light lingering tartness. Pretty tasty with the tartness providing a nice balance to the fruity and malty characters.

 

From the bottom of the can: "ENJOY BY: 24 JUN 2020 133822 P FL"

Appearance: The body is nearly opaque with a semi-transparent hazy straw gold appearance. It has a very short head that is fizzy and fades very quickly to a thin ring. Nothing but momentary lacing.

Aroma: There is a sour lemon aroma mixed with a bit of wildflower. A pleasant mango scent comes through when inhaling deeply. The aroma as a whole is very mellow. A light urea scent was coming through at times which isn't specifically bad but worth noting.

Taste: Up front there is a pineapple flavor. It gets a little tangy towards the middle of the mouth, both in flavor and character, giving it a bit of a powdered orange drink mix flavor. It tastes a little salty as well. Towards the end there is a light bit of grain husk flavor mixed with lemon. It's an interesting tasting beer but it tastes more like it should be a component of a more balanced flavor profile.

Mouthfeel: It's tangy and a bit rough on the tongue in the way sucking on a lemon would be. It is a little bitter but it is mostly towards the back and edges of the mouth and always in the company of a fruity flavor. The body is light and dry.

Overall: The can calls this a "SOUR NEW ENGLAND IPA" and although it does feel sour it doesn't really have many New England IPA qualities. The beer also lacks in a cohesiveness or a balance of character. It is tangy and dry but it makes the palate want something else. It's worth buying if you have a decent palate cleanser. The beer would pair well with herbal crackers and fatty, smooth, creamy cheeses. I could drink it again but not as a New England IPA.

a: slightly hazy burnt yellow and copper color with a hint of light orange. 1/2 finger forthy vibrant white head

s: oranges, clementines, orange juice, sweet grapefruit, candied mango, apricot, pineapple, and passionfruit. a solid crackery backbone as well

t: sweet clementines, orange juice, and sugary pineapple juice upfront. tangerine and a big hit of apricot as well behind those. some sweet malts as well. peach and strawberry with a little bit of dough

m: medium, mouthfeel with high carbonation

o: very mediocre to me. it's billed as a sour NEIPA, however it's lacking elements for both of those styles to me that would take it to the next level. not a bad sipper for hotter weather, but not something i'd seek out again

 

Sour IPA? Yes please. Bright, attention grabbing flavor and tang. Very much makes me think of passion fruit juice, or a really good passion fruit cocktail with refreshing carbonation. I am a fan of Sour Monkey and this feels like it's in that family.