Panic! Do Nothing
Taft's Brewing Co.

Easy, light and fruity, even the Taft's brewers aren't immune to the haze craze. Testing the hazy waters, they devise a classic West Coast styled IPA but adapt a few tricks of the trade that the more New England styled IPA have revealed.

Panic! Do Nothing comes with a solid haze that casts its golden orange glow as pastel to the eye. Juicy with the scent of citrus, lighter tropic, orchard and stone fruit, its perfumy scent is redolent of citronella. Light pastry sweetness greets the tastebuds with notions of shortcake, honey and faint caramel.

But as the ale rolls along the middle palate, its sweetness is slowly but steadily shifting toward the fruity hops. Orange, pink grapefruit, peach, cantaloup, mango and apricot. All fruits seem of the slightly under ripened variety with pineapple nuances rising along the way. Shifting yet to an herbal verbena, green tea taste, a spice of botanical gin and fresh pine decorates the later impressions of taste.

Medium bodied throughout, the beer's stern bitterness acts to dry the taste and sharpen its texture. But its cereal grain qualities act to bolster its mouthfeel and provide a roundness to justify its juicy and radiant hop derived fruitiness. A medium long aftertaste of grassy hops extend just beyond the malt sweetness for a hop forward finish.

I tried this at the brewery. It poured a hazy yellow with white head that left a very slight lace. The scent had citrus notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with citrus flare. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it was a great beer.