Liquid Vacation
Lord Hobo Brewing Company

i was skeptical about this one, but it bangs, maybe my favorite of the lord hobo stuff i had in the same recent session, modern and definitely flavored, but also really good, lots to like about it. the first is the low alcohol, its a total session ripper of a beer, which is rarely the case with the hazy one, but here we are, its not crazy cloudy or anything, sort of a frosted honey look to it, nice white inch of head from the can. another thing i like is the hops and fruit elements together, they pair brilliantly, sort of the passion fruit, orange, guava trifecta going on, candied and sweet in the nose and in the center, but so complimentary with the hops, whispers of coconut and papaya, melon and valencia orange, pineapple from the can too, the hops are no doubt well selected for this fruit complex, and the bitterness is kept low, this is on the edge of not really being ipa, but its flavorful enough from the hops that its still passable as such, neat line to walk. the last part of this that makes an impact is the fruit element itself, like its not real fruit to me, but i also dont think its trying to be, and it succeeds in a cool way. to me this seems like terpenes from fruit rather than fruit, or something like it, some naturally derived" flavorings, but they are well dosed in this, again great with the hops they picked, and not allowed to make this a sugary drink, its off dry but never hits forced and diabetic, which is to its great credit. seems like terps, but it keeps the beer light, and thats neat. its not exactly artificial, which has an appeal in this, almost cocktail-like really. summery for sure, some grain in there keeping it beery enough, and with great carbonation. i think a fun and quite modern flavored ipa overall, better than expected, spot on for warm weather beach/pool vibes, and very much a volume drinker. well done in a tricky style space.

 

 

Although the can says it is a tropical IPA, this is not an IPA. more like a fruit beer. Would rate it totally different if in fact it is a fruit beer.