Night Of Rotating Nakedness
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

473 mL can from the brewery; no canning date and served slightly chilled.

Pours a foggy amber-orange colour, kicking up more than an inch of foamy white head that erodes over the next five minutes or so. A lumpy cap is left surrounded by a bountiful collar of soapy suds, with gobs of beautiful lace painted onto the glass - looks excellent so far. It smells like an old school DIPA, loaded up with C-hops - fairly piney & resiny, but also floral, earthy and a little spicy. Notes of grapefruit, apricot, orange oil and caramelized sugars are also discernible, with suggestions of lychee and passion fruit.

I was getting excited, but the first sip snapped me back to reality. It does feature a sturdy malt backdrop of honey, caramel and bready, doughy malt sweetness, but finishes exceedingly bitter. Grapefruit, orange and lemon take over by mid-sip, which are in turn shoved aside by piney, herbal, floral hop bitterness; intensely resiny finish, with shades of citrus peel, spicy hops, tropical fruit and pine sap reverberating into the aftertaste. Medium-full in body, with low carbonation that weakly agitates the surface of the palate; limited drinkability, due to the high bitterness and booze quotient.

Final Grade: 3.79, a B+. As you might expect, Night of Rotating Nakedness has been an up and down experience. Visually stunning and aromatically enticing, especially if you're a fan of 'classic' west coast DIPAs (vs. the more modern & common hazy DIPAs). The flavour profile is somewhat less interesting, but again, it should still appeal to fans of old school west coast DIPAs - it's intense, especially in terms of bitterness, but it's lacking in depth. Very much a mixed bag - I think I'd buy this again if they brew another batch, as I do enjoy a good C-hop bomb now and then.