Lloyd Christmas
Alvarado Street Brewery

 

 

Can from the bistro in Carmel, CA. Pours a hazy yellow gold with a finger of rocky white head that dissipates, nice lacing, smell is papaya, cantaloupe, pineapple, candied orange peel, orange zest, dank cotton candy, hint of cat piss and yellow cake, taste is papaya, cantaloupe, pineapple, candied orange flesh, orange and grapefruit zest, pithy/piney/dank bitter finish, feel is medium bodied, creamy carbonation, mild hop burn. A fruity dank treat with relatively assertive bitterness and hop bite.

 

 

Not sure why the low rating here, at least perceived.

2019 version on the shelves Dec 12th 2019 reviewed here.

Can't beat the can design. I absolutely love it and just screams Christmas for me.

All the tropical fruits present (papaya, mango, grapefruit). Nice and pillowy soft without the alcohol burn. To be honest though, for ASB beers, I always drink 1 fresh, but save the other 3 for 7 days as for me, this is when the ASB Double IPA's hit their peak.

Great mouthfeel and excellent flavor. A typical ASB Hazy juice bomb.

 

Can poured into a Russian River Brewing Co pub glass

A: Pours super hazy golden yellow with a slightly greenish tinge, and a frothy egg shell white head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little nice lacing.

S: Pretty much the whole fruit stand, tropical fruit, berries, melon, orchard fruit, and citrus, spicy pine, faint dank herbal notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness. Has a little raw green hoppy side, like sticking your nose in a bag of pellets.

T: There's a ton going on in this one. Opens up with a spicy pine, then shows its fruity side, tropical, orchard fruit, and citrus, passion fruit, strawberry, cherry candy, mango, apricot, peach, papaya, grapefruit, orange, and a little melon, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation, somewhat soft on the palate, but opens with some serious hop burn.

O: Arguably the sharpest dressed can out there. That being said, this one comes off a little rough around the edges, at last for now, like it could use a few more days to mature and really come together. Props for the intensity of the hops, there's a lot of potential, but it's just not quite there.

Canned 12/11/18
L: Pours murky yellow in color. Looks darn similar to juice. Little head formation and no residual lacing.
S: Not as pronounced as I would hope. Yeast-forward with aromas of grapefruit and orange.
T: Yeast-forward taste-wise. Citrusy flavor on the finish. Mild grassy hop flavor, but yeast is the backbone of the beer.
F: Medium in body and in weight. Carbonation is moderate to high.
O: An enjoyable beer. Bonus brownie points for the awesome can art. I am very glad to have tried. Cheers!

 

2019 version is a definite step up from 2018 - more aromatic and the hop blend just seems to meld together better. Just on the sweeter side. Incredible feel that's to be expected from ASB, really enjoyable double hazy.

 

 

 

Having just had Spooky Juice and CNJ recently, this one kind of paled in comparison. The nose is kind of weak compared to ASB's other beers. You get slight mango, sweet malt, and faint hops. The taste is better, you have a good mix of light tropical fruit juice, hop oil, brown sugar malts, and a yeast/hop burn on the finish.

Draught pour at Tankhouse into a shaker pint. Served way too cold. Murky orange bronze with limited head that left mixed lacing. Nose nice but faint (likely due to serving temp), melon, mango and citrus. Taste follows nose, limited bitterness but plenty of astringency, which lingers on the palate. Slick on the tongue, slight burn from the astringency, moderate carbonation.

I'd like to revisit a warmer pour.