Sophistry 03
Lupulin Brewing

Apparently this is the third iteration of Sophistry, though I haven't heard of it before, and certainly haven't tried the first two. So, I don't know exactly what I'm getting into. Some kind of IPA, if I'm not mistaken...

Hazy, bright golden hue, slim white head.

In the nose: Citrus hops on top, with a slice of tropical tones to the side. Beautiful hop bouquet.

In the mouth: Brash hop attack up front, then smooth sailing. All those island fruit flavors parade the palate. Citrus takes up the remaining space. Lean bodied, easy drinking.
This can goes down in no time.

(and I'll say anything but "crushable." How I wish the beer world would get over that dumb, dumb word.)

 

 

 

 

Lupulin has consistently been in the narrow “pretty good to good” category for me, & I’m still waiting for an excellent brew. Will this sixteen ounces do it? The suspense is building.

The pour out of the opaque can is a light yellow that’s a cross-breed between regular & NE IPA. The nose is flowery with a heavy dose of passion fruit Kool-Aid. Not bad.

Sophistry 3 is on the edge of the NE IPA style, but that’s just quibbling. There’s a shot of the typical sugar-laden water, but it’s backed by mango, passion fruit, a shot of orange juice & a nice, tongue-roughening, lightly bitter hop smack on the finish. Tasty, but the sweetness up front would limit the amount of this I’d want to ingest.

The Lupulin-builder I was seeking remains elusive, but I equivocate. Very good brew.

 

From a tall boy (canned 2 weeks ago) into my trusty Ayinger willibecher, pours a cloudy dull dandelion gold with a thin ring of aspirin white. According to the can, hopped with Galaxy, Kohatu, Mosaic, and Citra, one would expect this to be pretty potent on the nose, and indeed it is...perfumed flowery orange blossom, passion fruit, mango, maybe a little lime, and some crackery malt with a little white pepper. Taste follows, fairly sweet without being cloying... a little wetter and sticky than expected, but i’m enjoying, and there’s a faint hoppy bite that is much appreciated.

Poured from pint can into shaker pint glass.
A: Pours a clear lemon yellow with 2 inch tightly bubbled head continually fed by very active carbonation jets with excellent retention.
S: Bright citrus notes of lemon, orange, grapefruit, and hint of lime. Hint of cracker malt.
T: A lively lemon note gives a nice kick-off to this brew. Followed by tangerine, peach, melon, and white pepper. Dry cracker malt in the background. With warming, a hints of white wine and key lime emerge. Surprising hop complexity!
M: Light body. Citrus and tropical fruit sweetness. Mildly dry and bitter. Lingers nicely on the palate.
D: Absolutely love what the Kohatu hops add to this brew! Lovely summer beer. Nicely done, Lupulin!