Two Vans Full Of Weirdos
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

 

473ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $4.25CDN. Canned November 16, 2023.

Appearance - Hazy orange-yellow from the can and into the glass. A finger and a half of foamy white head is poured with very good head retention. Somewhat juice-like in it's appearance.

Smell - Plenty of orange, lesser amount of passionfruit and peach. Quite robust and sweet smelling.

Taste - Muted orange and peach flavors. Wheat malt backbone. With the sabro hops lending itself for some coconut flavors, there is sort of an orange creamsicle flavor going on, but not done as well as other brewers. Fairly sweet with some moderate bitterness on the back end.

Mouthfeel - Fairly full bodied and well carbonated, nearing overly gassy levels but this is fine where it is. Fairly juicy on the whole and the ABV is disguised well, only feeling it in the back of the throat.

Overall - A well enough crafted brew that I enjoyed quite a bit more than the original Van full of weirdos, the sustained presence of orange with low bitterness make this a brew I could see myself coming back to.

473 mL can from the brewery; dated Oct 31 2023 and served barely chilled.

Pours murky but translucent, its golden orange-hued body topped with an inch of smooth, foamy white head that dissipates well within five minutes' time. A half-inch ring of even lacing coats the glass, with a tight, creamy collar and filmy-thin cap living on - looks fine so far. I'm getting lots of mandarin orange on the nose, paired with lesser notes of passion fruit, peach juice, guava and minty, herbal hops.

It's not bad - I'm tasting grapefruit, tangerine and passion fruit, with added hints of apricot, coconut, pineapple and wheaty, bready malt sweetness. Simcoe hops assert themselves on the back end, providing an earthy, piney hop bitterness that is subsumed by more citrus and tropical fruitiness at the finish; the aftertaste is fruity and moderately warming. Full bodied, with a juicy, fulfilling mouthfeel punctuated by moderate carbonation - feels smooth, with solid drinkability for over 8%.

Final Grade: 3.65, a B grade. If you've never been passed by Two Vans Full of Weirdos in quick succession, clearly you have never lived in Sarnia. Lucky you! In all seriousness, Two Vans is alright, but I don't think it compares all that favourably, on average, to the many other DIPAs that are readily available at the LCBO - and if we limit the comparison to include only Refined Fool double IPAs, I'd still prefer Short Pier. Worth a try if you can find it, but not really worth going out of your way for.