Atlantean New England IPA
The White Hag Irish Brewing Company

 

Copenhagen 3/2 2022. 33 cl can from Meny, Borups Allé, Frb. F. Quite confusing geometric figures in different shades of blue and very pink on the can. White Hags pretty cool logo with a golden W intertwined with a white H on a black background.

Pours unclear - almost hazy - yellow with a big, white head. A bit bubbly. Settles as 1 cm thick, lumpy layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Clinging to the sides of the glass. Substantial lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with a sweet odor of stone fruit and citric slightly acerbic notes. Peach, apricot and pineapple. Blood orange and lemon.

Medium strong carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, soft, lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is medium intense with a medium strong sweetness followed by a slightly stronger bitterness. Aftertaste is a little thin. Bitter with a sweet fruity undertone. Lingers for a bit. Finish is rather dry.

Pretty light for a DIPA - but satisfying none the less.

 

330 ml can, unfiltered and unpasteurised, as The White Hag Atlantean New England IPA. ABV is 5.4%. Pale yellow colour, only slightly hazy. Moderate white head. Nice aroma of tropical fruits, pine and spruce. Light bodied. The flavour has some citrus and tropical fruits with a slight sweetness, followed by pine / resin and spruce tips. Not bad, but does not really stand out from the crowd.

330ml Can from SAS Store, Glasgow (£2.95):
Quite a light, hazy amber to golden with a large, foamy white head that leaves plenty lacing on the glass whilst slowly settling just over a centimetre tall. It's a fresh nose with citrus & light tropical notes, pineapple & some mango with touches of papaya too; juicy & quite lively. The taste is similarly fruity with mango & light peach hops, some citrus ones too then more of the pineapple from the nose without anything being overly pronounced; it reminded me of a session IPA at this point. I got some juicy fruits & touches of pine seeing things out whilst the body was juicy, sticky & quite fruity with good carbonation & a medium body; a good finish.

look: head immediately dissipates to nothing but a few scattered bubbles, beer is neipa style straw coloured and very hazy, looks like pineapple juice.

smell: super tropical and juicy, pineapple, mango, papaya, passion fruit, cherry, lemon and lime, zap of hop bitterness, of course smells rather sweet. smells delightful to tell you the truth.

taste: smells fruity, tastes fruity, and it’s good too, there is a bit of grassy malt at first, then some sweetness, then a rush of all those aforementioned fruit flavours, i think pineapple and passions fruit dominate tho, a pleasant whack of bitterness at the end, quite a clean finish, some nice fruity flavours linger. pretty good.

feel: medium bodied, medium carbonation, quite dry, refreshing, sessionable but flavoursome, some warming of the back of the throat actually, despite it being only 5.4%.

overall: a very tasty and enjoyable beer, a total summer beer, something better enjoyed not in lockdown.

Can. Cloudy straw. Medium dense frothy head which dissipates quickly.
Fruity aroma. Tangerine and peach.
The fruit continues into the flavour along with malty grain.
Low carbonation. Smooth.
Straightforward NEIPA. Nice.

Opening the can - surprisingly no hissing, usually it's a bad omen. The can isn't printed, but plastic film coated.

Top: When pouring, nice foamy top forms, although it disappears in a short time.

Colour: Beautiful hazy sun yellow, maybe a bit darker.

Smell: reminds me of Sierra Nevada's Hazy little thing (which I use as the standard to compare to). Nice citrus tones. After decanting, slight alcohol smell comes up.

Taste: light to medium body, easy to drink. Micro bubbles on the tongue. Bitterness moderated, I'd like to see a bit more of that. Citrus aromas present with a hint of sweetness. Hops could feel more powerful.

Summary: Although it looks and smells like Sierra Nevada's Hazy little thing, but lacks the character (as in bitterness and hop flavours). Average to good NEIPA, but nowhere close to excellent.

This may be my first NEIPA inspired from the other side of the pond. And White Hag did a admirable (admiral!) job.
Looks the NEIPA type, cloudy... but this could have more foam. Smells are fruity with lurking hops, but not distinguishable. Tastes are malty and fruity enough until the end when the hops start to coat my tongue (but that's my malt-head speaking.) I like the refreshing way it sits in my mouth. And if you are a hop-head, you will like it even more than me.

My first from White Hag, I went on their website and was impressed by their thoughtful marketing and their Hagstravaganza which seemed like a cool festival to organize five years running. White Hag also reminded me that I had not touched base with the Irish craft movement for five years since I visited Dublin. If White Hag is evidence, Irish crafters are advancing nicely. Good name, gents. Mother Nature is the mother of us all. Glad to support your cause.

Pours hazy, light gold in color with one third inch head. Taste is tangerine, orange and starfruit. Medium bodied and carbonation, slightly bitter. Makes for a solid neipa. Plenty juicy. Well worth a try.