Second Wave
Sand City Brewing Co. - North

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 16oz can into a Speiglau IPA glass.

Look is a slightly hazy yellow with a thin white head.

Aroma is mango and tangerine.

Taste is tropical fruits with a pithy citrus bitterness.

Deliciously balanced.

 

A golden/amber color on the pour. An unfiltered look with a frothy head of white bubbles and silky lacing. Hops and spices on the nose- decently floral. The drinking hits with good bitter hops upfront. The bitter is not over-powering and seems to be rounded and balanced out nicely by the malt. Rather smooth on the flow with a slightly bittering finish. I get much more of a pine, resin, and herbal flavor notesl from the hops. A moderate mouth feel that drinks dry and yet rather crisp and refreshing despite it's abv.

Overall, just really nice straight up ipa.

Maybe I’ve been spoiled as of late, but this was just average...

Traded for this a while ago but I'm unsure when as the bottom of the can didn't have anything written on it. Regardless of that, this poured, looked, and tasted nice as it was on par with other beers that I've had from Sand City. If you like New England IPA's with plenty of juice, haze, balance, and a recessed alcoholic presence, then this would certainly be up your alley!

Nice label to this as it looked like the album cover for Keane's "Under the Iron Sea" and the pour was pleasing as this had a muted peach hue with lots of fine sediment floating in the liquid. A nice head topped this off and there was plenty of spotty, soapy splotches on the side of my pint glass even though individual rings were quite difficult to discern. Tons of tangerine, heavy citrus, melon, papaya, and pineapple in the varied nose as there was a ton of fruit to be found in the understated aroma. Dry wheat, swamp water, dank hops, earthy hops, white chocolate, piss (there, I said it), and Pilsner Malt came through in the varied and deep taste as each sip was worth swishing around and savoring. Balanced, lightly slick, and subtly deep, this was so wonderful on the palate as the sweetness, wheat, bitterness, and fruit were in nearly-perfect balance, with the alcohol staying in the background during this interplay.

If there was a case for having a beer full of malt that added body and balanced out the hops at the same time, this beer would be proof of that. It didn't come across as wet or heavy as the wheat and malt were able to take the juice and dankness from the hops and keep them in check. Like Sand City's other offerings, this was a winner that grew on me as I worked my way through it and let the beer warm up. A second wave if there ever was one, the first impression was only a hint of what was to come as I worked my way through this. Highly recommended!