Pink Fly
Hop Butcher For The World

There are offensively stark white foamy pours out of pint cans, but this is among the worst. Even a clear glass liter mug couldn't contain it all, as the foam rose to consume at least 80% of the vessel. Of course, it recedes unevenly and unattractively, leaving irregular lacing inside the glass. There's also no bonus points for the murky dirty blond liquid that forms at the bottom of the foam. This looks far too familiar as an example of the modern version of an IPA, which means less barley malt and therefore less taste and less body. There's only a modest citrusy hop aspect to be had by the nose. The taste is mostly bland, although there's a little sharp and dry hop bitterness at the finish. As suspected, without any, or much barley malt, the body is too thin to carry its decent hopping. Overall, it's better than it looks and smells, but substituting wheat, or even oats in an IPA shortchanges the overall. This one is among the acceptable barley malt deprived AIPAs, but it's not close to greatness

Can courtesy of Vince - thanks, bruv.

B- / WORTHY

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $5.25. The canned on date is somewhat illegible, but a little research seems to indicate that it was canned on 2/27/23. That would make this beer exactly 8 weeks old.

Look: Very hazy yellowish orange color with a fluffy off-white head.

Smell: Nice tropical, citrus and green notes. I get grapefruit, orange, and melon notes. Green bell pepper on the finish after swirling the glass. Lots of green, grassy and vegetal notes. There's an interesting almost funky/chalky aroma too. Overall, it smells pretty good.

Taste: Pretty tasty overall. Nice hoppy flavors up front balanced with citrus, tropical fruit, and some bitterness. The finish is kind of weird, definitely unexpected. It almost drops off to nothing and then it leaves behind a slightly chalky, bitter and spicy/dry lingering effect. The finish is kind of growing on me though, maybe it just needed some acclimation time.

Feel: The mouthfeel is soft and creamy. Slightly chalky.

Overall: I don't think that I have had Waimea hops before. It's hard to get a sense of it because this beer also has Nelson Sauvin. This is interesting, but it's honestly just not very impressive. I keep coming back to the hazy IPAs occasionally, and more often than not I find myself feeling underwhelmed. I love Nelson Sauvin hops, and IMHO they work so much better in a West Coast-Style IPA application than a hazy one. I think that Hop Butcher is an interesting brewery, and I also get the impression that most of the beers they make are just not for me.

From the can:
TASTING NOTES:
Juicy Mango
Pleasant Pine
Crisp White Grapes