HAL
Fiction Beer Company

after having a pretty lackluster english porter from these guys earlier in the week, it was nice to have this one redeem them so quickly. definitely a little more in the wheelhouse of what i always know these guys to do so well, their hoppy stuff is always very good. this one is more clear than a lot of the others have been lately, and quite a lot more bitter, more of a west coast style, which seems like a nice change of pace, but hopefully is the pendulum swinging back to the median in the style. the freshness hits me right in the face, this smells brand new, and has a hugely bright orange peel sort of bitterness, a distinct pine sap character as well, and a simple malt base that seems right on, just pale barley with a little honey element to it, just the foundation i like in a beer like this. the hop flavor is awesome, bitter all the way through not just at the end, and with as much pine as there is citrus to it, a very northwestern flavor profile, but a beer thats obviously been dry hopped and can still be rightly called juicy, even though its not one of those all dry hoppy hazy new school types. super drinkable too, i cut myself off after one, but i could have made a night of these. great ipa.

 

Very nice NEIPA, at 6.3 ABV a bit higher but overall very nice beer.