Bright Lights
Braven Brewing Company

 

Pours a clear golden color. A moderate foam head retains well and yields lacing.

The nose is rather clean with some stone and citrus fruit aromas opening up later. There are notes of grapefruit and peach, along with cracker malt. There is a touch of floral and grassy aromas.

Opens very clean, crisp and dry, so much so that it almost lacks malt flavor at first. A dry and crisp cracker malt backbone offers thin support to an assertive hops spice. Flavors of pine and grass offer a pricklyness to the palate, as well as a gentle bitterness. Bright hops flavors develop, including grapefruit and peach. Furthermore, as the drink warms, a dry biscuity and bready flavor finally develops, offering a subdued balancing sweetness. The finish is crisp and dry.

Light to medium bodied. The mouthfeel is very crisp and the carbonation is lively.

The flavors opened up midway. It was ok, however, I’m rating it lower as it was a bit pedestrian.

Served on tap into a 16 oz (473 ml) conical pint glass at Growlers in Tuckahoe, NY.
A: Pours a slightly hazy, golden color with a one finger, fluffy & foamy, lemon chiffon head, strong retention, and sheets and sheets of lacing.
S: Aromas of lemon, white grapefruit, pineapple, guava, and pine.
T: Interestingly more semidry than semisweet, but very, very fruity. In the flavor picture, white grapefruit >> lemon, but nicely piney and solidly bitter.
M: Light bodied with persistent carbonation. Creamy.
O: Didn't know what to expect. Heavenly, wish it were more available locally.

 

Draft on Aug 27, 2020. Overall this is a semi-light dry-hopped 'New England' type IPA, though it's billed as an APA. Color is lighter and more yellow-golden than most New England IPAs, befitting it's semi-light character. The smell is very pleasant, mango, grapefruit, and citrus. The taste is definitely more dry-hopped (which is a very good thing), following the smell and is citrusy, mango-y, and grapefruit-y. It's not particularly sweet, which is a good thing, fruity but without much 'sweetness'. Mouthfeel is a little on the light side, but perfect for a 'summer' dry-hopped IPA. Overall, an excellent beer. It taste a lot like a slightly lighter version of something like Grey Sail Captain's Daughter, similar to Grey Sail Little Sister. A very nice dry hopped, mango-y, not bitter APA which is perfect for summer weather, and when you don't want a very heavy beer.