Astral Projection
Holy Mountain Brewing Company

 

Solid hazy brew from HM. Top Notch Haze orange juice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very cloudy milky dark straw color that has a solid texture. Aroma is a strong hoppy. Taste is a strong hoppy with a great grapefruit aftertaste. Very different.

Showing that they are much more than oak aged and wild yeast, the Holy Mountain group shows their prowess at bitter beer. Siding with the New England type IPA from across the country, their fruit filled imperial IPA also has a bite.

Astral Project pours a nearly turbid, heavily hazed golden amber color that builds a frothy, cottony head. Juicy with the strong perfume of citrus, tropical and herbal character, the beer teases the nose with sherbet-like fruity scents but with grassy threads in complement. Sweet and succulent as the malts hit the front of the tongue, but the caramel, honey and candied taste is short lived as the hops quickly win out.

Malt sweetness dissolves rapidly on the tongue to leave a plethora of hop flavors to bounce from the middle palate. Tangerine, pineapple, red grapefruit, passionfruit and lemon all leave a tangy, tropic and citrus taste washing the tastebuds wave after wave. Eventually, the succulence and sweetness expel and the piquant grassiness of hops lay a bitter film on the back of the throat.

Medium bodied but carrying the drinkability of standard IPA, the beer's juicy and creamy upstart has it seeming fuller, but its resinous dryness and moderate alcohol warmth helps to crispen its taste and offer the refreshment and palatability that will have you drinking this IPA much faster than you'd want.

 

 

 

 

A: Beer pours out an incredibly hazy light gold bordering on straw yellow color with about a finger of fluffy white head. This one looks super turbid, actually thick in the glass, with barely any light passing through the liquid.

S: Very forward on the nose, with big notes of pineapple, grapefruit, orange, and tangerine. But the fruit notes on this are absolutely incredible. They're so bright and juicy... The citrus is extremely spritzy, and the pineapple note is like the fresh juice of an ultra ripe pineapple. There's a little minty/dank/weedy herbaceous thing on the backend that provides an almost cooling effect on the nose, but the overwhelming note is the juice of sweet, ripe pineapple and grapefruit.

T: Pineapple, orange, and grapefruit. Extremely creamsicle-esque. Almost like sweet, overly ripe pineapple and grapefruit. The way the malts work with the hops give an illusion of something like a vanilla sweetness that works so damn well with the fruit flavors. On the finish, a little bit of that green herbaceous thing comes through, but the overwhelming note is sweet orange juice, with a medium pithy bitterness that perfectly cuts that sweetness. As it warms, the bitterness comes out a bit more, along with just the slightest touch of astringency.

M: Creamy, creamy, creamy. Seriously, this beer makes me rethink every other time I've used that adjective to describe a beer. This one has a perfect balance of soft carbonation, a hefty weight on the palate, and a PERFECT bitter vs. sweet balance that just lingers on that pulpy OJ aftertaste.

O: Well that came out of nowhere. Seriously, is this actually Holy Mountain's first canning run? If so, I'm gonna need a whole lot more of this... The flavor and aroma profiles on this beer are absolutely perfect for my tastes, and the mouthfeel is up there with some of the best beers I've ever had. It tastes like what Trillium's Headroom was supposed to be. It reminds me a lot of a Heist's Citraquench'l. But it's super unique too... Holy Mountain is onto something here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served On-Tap

A — Pours a light and pale orange / yellow color. There is a little bit of haze too. Head is initially tall and nearly white in color. Fades somewhat and leaves behind a little bit of lacing upon the inside of the glass.

S — Smells a bit bright and fresh, notes of lemon, pineapple, little bit of tropical notes to it. Also a bit of a piney, earthy tone as well.

T — Great taste overall, nice notes of pine and earth, balanced with some sweet tropical fruit notes of pineapple and lemon juice.

M — Medium bodied, does not come across as a high ABV brew.

O — Very nice overall, Holy Mountain is doing fantastic things.

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the finer IIPAs brewed in Seattle : a luscious mouthfeel with an incredible tropical burst of hops on both taste and nose. Very well balanced, and not too dry or bitter. I had this one on tap so freshness may play a part but I'm going to keep my eye out for these brews when I'm out and about in ole' Seahole