Desert Sky Hazy IPA
Bend Brewing Company

i like this place, wish their beers would start coming to boise, this is a very solid hazy, nothing radical, but the high quality stands out, and this is sort of basic on the ingredients side, so its overarching technical goodness is a real takeaway, citra and mosaic, we have all seen it a million times before, white wheat and rolled oats, this is somewhat formulaic then, it just is very well done, and thats a cool thing to experience, especially in this style that has just so much mediocre (or worse) beers in it. modern but understated can design, ripe nose of fresh pineapple, tangerine, and orange candy, maybe a little lemongrass lift to it, subtle vanilla and honey with a little bit of grain sweetness left in it, but also drier earthier cereal quality from the malt to me, a bit of bitterness that is not out of place for me in a hazy, and a subtle non neutral fermentation element that adds something missing in many of these, freshness is key too, and this seems brand new, not green or vegetal or forced either, but pretty bold, great proportions right away. the flavor is the same, mosaic and citra pulling equal weight to me, but hitting at different moments, citra first with lemon and trace vanilla sugar on top of the wheaty base, mosaic later, more canned pineapple and woodsy, no catty character to it at all, and there is quite a lot of starch to this, extending it some and making it feel all fluffy and soft, really nice texture to this with all the carbonation too. bitterness is moderate, nothing green, zested lemon and its pith at the end, a little tropical mango thing happening too, accentuated by the sugar thats left here. very solid offering overall, better than what so many others are doing with the same ingredients, which says a lot...

Look: Pours a lightly opaque dull orange with a sudsy head that swells and quickly settles to a lid, leaving a ring of lacing behind

Aroma: Orange, pineapple, wafts of coconut, tangerine, nectarine, papaya, and sweet bready malt

Taste: Follows the nose well, starting with a pungent hit of tangerine and orange, quickly followed by pineapple. Pineapple and coconut reign in the second act and light tropical fruit and nectarine are present as well until it closes out with citrus fruit

Mouthfeel: Full, soft, medium-high carbonation, and soft on the finish with a little slickness

Overall: I dig it. This is a pretty good hazy that although not super unique in its flavor/aroma profile, is executed nicely and doesn’t suffer from the typical hazy IPA flaws. Flavorful and easy to drink, which makes it above average on my tough-on-hazies grading scale

Nice, original flavor. From tap. Like no other Hazy that I've had, and this is very good. Has a light, clean pineapple punch with tropical fruit notes. Stays beery without being just juice. Delicious!

This beer pours cloudy amber with little head. This beer at first sip hits you with a totally new flavor unlike any other I have ever had . Flavor is of big mix of radish ,peach ,citrus and a alcohol taste which seems odd with such a low ABV of only 6.5%. I have never had Citra and Mosaic hops taste like this. Finish goes down with a tannic taste. Brew was fine but would not buy again but the new taste was worth sampling.