STRATAsphere
Orono Brewing Company

From a can dated 02/11/22. Sampled Aug 31, 2022.

The pour is a milky, hazy, pulpy looking yellow under a tremendous fluffy white head.

Aromatic. I get tropical fruit, guava especially, with a lower profile bready grain and low to no alcohol.

Smooth medium mouthfeel.

The taste is sweet and notably tropical with a slight alcohol burn. Ends fruity. Not too bad

 

I have very much enjoyed most of the IPAs I've had from Orono Brewing, and they are also a brewery I really enjoyed my first brush with at a Zwanze Day celebration in Portland, ME several years ago (I forget exactly what it was, but it was definitely a sour, and it was definitely awesome). This right here is their take on a Strata-hopped double IPA, canned 8/10/20. Pretty fresh. As the bottom of the can says... "Excelsior!"

Pour is a nice, hazy looking IPA with a very compact appearance. The head is clearly defined and never really gets up beyond a few fingers, eventually settling down to a half-finger, leaving behind some quite-nice lacing and legs. The surface itself is totally covered with foam, which gives me high hopes for this one... such nice retention is usually only reserved for some of the hoppiest, most well-developed recipes. I'm hoping this brew gives me insight into what Strata is really about, because... I'll be honest, most "Strata-focused" beers I've had have really not sold me on this apparently "highly-valued" varietal.

The first scent notes I pick up from this are grassy and earthy with some notes of honeydew melon, gooseberry, and passion fruit. It's definitely an extremely-aromatic beer, but something about it seems weird to me for whatever reason. Perhaps the "grassy" notes have a bit too much in common with Equinox/Ekuanot, because I get this unusual, vegetal(?) element from them that I just cannot enjoy. I've had a few other Strata beers before, but this is the freshest specimen and probably the most "accurate" depiction of the hop that I've partaken in.

On the tongue, STRATAsphere has a big component of herbal and fresh-cut grass that dominates the palate, only slightly giving way to some light tropical flashes of papaya and underripe mango, as well as some backing notes of cantaloupe and honeydew melon. This is a really, really weird hop, that's for sure. Like I said, I'm not sure where I stand on it. It actually does seem distinct and like it can carry itself well as a "single hop" addition, but I also am of the mind that some of the more old-school varietals would have a field day working their magic with this. As it stands, it feels somewhat "raw," like it needs some hops like Simcoe, Chinook, or even Cascade to back it up and give it some depth. The flavors of orchard fruit, complex herbs, and grassy "dankness" are a bit loose and looking for some kind of anchor, in my opinion.

This beer drinks pretty well for its strength, but it does end up becoming a bit heavy and "syrupy" eventually. The body is a little heavier than medium for the style, for sure. I like a lot of the flavors here and think that Strata is a hop that should, by all accounts, become a successful commercial varietal, but I do think some work is necessary to find recipes within which it feels more "at home." Maybe it would even work in recipes that aren't IPAs! I've talked about this at length in other reviews I've done, but not every hop belongs in hazy IPAs. Such recipes are typically not even a good way to understand the way that novel hop varietals work in context because of the use of unusually-protein-heavy grain bills (most having a great degree of variation) and characterful yeast strains for fermentation. Anyway, I enjoy this beer and this review is definitely "Pontification 101," but... whatever. Orono is a good brewery that you should certainly buy beer from. This might even be a good choice for you if you like the flavors I mention above. For me, though, this is a one-and-done, even though my ratings seem very high.

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass canned on 8/10/2020. Pours a very hazy bright orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thick gobs of lace with amazing retention. 4.75

Smell is pineapple, marijuana, tangerine, guava, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows pineapple, tangerine, guava, marijuana, and apricot really balanced and bold. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, a tad sticky not dry, soft gentle carbonation, and at 8.2% it goes down really easy but is bold and loaded with flavor. 4.75

Overall this is a very nice NEDIPA, I really think I am a huge fan of Strata hops. Dank and tropical at the same time. Really recommend this NEDIPA. 4.5

16oz can. Poured out a cloudy, hazy, golden orange color with a small, off-white head of bubbly foam that left some nice rings of lace on the glass. It smelled of pineapple, grapefruit, mango and citrus. Sweet tropical fruitiness with a toasted caramel backbone.

Bought a 4 pack at DeCicco supermarket in Millwood, NY. Knew this was going to be good but better than I expected. Super soft NEIPA, lovely fruity hops, not too sweet and no nasty offending flavors on the tongue like so many other less than perfect (most of them) NEIPA's have. Tree House is the gold standard for NEIPA's and this would fit in rather well right beside Green and Julius. JUICEBOMB!

 

 

On tap at Novare

16 oz can sent from SierraNevallagash dated 2/11/19 poured into Yakima Valley Hops glass.

Beautiful hazy juicy mellow gold color with a creamy 3 finger head with tons of lovely lacing left behind.

This aroma. Wow. Mango and pineapple in droves. Just delicious. Dankness. Sweaty fruit. Orange, cantaloupe, and tangerine. Whoa. This is large.

Flavor is a little washed out compared to the aroma but make no mistake it's great. Huge sweaty and sticky fruits - mango, papaya, pineapple, orange, cantaloupe. Delicious, juicy fruits.

Feel is creamy and acidic with lots of juicy feelz. Moderate carbonation, mild resins, great acidic juiciness.

Overall, whatever other people say about New England IPAs, I don't care because it's beers like this here that blow up my beer skirt. Delicious, amazing stuff here.

A collaboration between Orono Brewing and Austin Street brewery.

Pint can - dated 02/11/19 - poured into a thistle pint at 44f.

Pours a turn it, milky deep yellowish-orange, with two fingers of dense, creamy white foam, that does not want to recede. Some lacing clings to the glass.

On the nose, you get a massive burst of melon, mango, peaches, kiwi, pineapple, sweet white grape, Manuka honey, vanilla, and a touch of black pepper. Sweet, fruity, and inherently New Zealand. .

On the palate, those southern hemisphere hops become even more exotic. Again, there's loads of melon, white grape, starfruit, kiwi, lychee, and some mango in thr buildup. Then you get this wonderful little spike of bright, sharp lemon zest, that begins to pair with spicy black peppercorn as the finish comes along. That bright little lemon note is a really nice surprise. It adds a slight acidic zing to it. A little bit of bitterness shows up in the finish, but diminishes rather quickly, leaving the remaining flavor to shift to earthy and dank. The malt profile in this is very nicely balanced. Not so much that it becomes syrupy and cloying, but enough to support the hops so it doesn't become overly dry and bitter. It's a really nice balance, and rather impressive for an 8+% DIPA. It's actually not all that sweet, but it has just the right touch. As far as the hops go, tropical is the word.

Mouthfeel: The body has a nice round softness to it, but it isn't fluffy or thick, ajd certainly not syrupy or sticky. It's actually a pretty crisp feel for a beer of this size. This one can sneak up on you on a hot day. Very drinkable for its weight. Holds its ABV quite well, with a nice effervescence to keep it light on its feet. It's right in the middle.

Overall: This was really hyped up when it came out, and it sold out fast. And fit3good reason. Anyone who's familiar with Austin Street knows their capability. This is by far the best collaboration beer I've tried, and would love to see them do some more work like this. I have no complaints about this beer. It's a wonderful display of southern hemisphere hops. It's a wonderfully drinkable big NEDIPA, and it's just really well crafted. If you're on the fence about this one, pull the trigger. It won't be around for long, and it's definitely one to try.