A•W18
Cloudwater Brew Co.

Too much bitter taste for me in this brew. A bit too bitter. I think many of the other Other Half beers are much better. High ABV and technically an imperial stout, but looks more like an IPA.

 

L: Hazy orange color, very juicy, almost no head, not much of a lacing either, good carbonation.

S: Tropical fruits, juicy. Could sniff all day long.

T: I died and went in heaven! Tropical fruits, juicy, hoppy. Everything you would expect from a NE DIPA.

F: Medium bodied, full flavored.

O: One of the best NE DIPAs I have ever tasted. So fresh and juicy!

i had a hard time with this one, not because its not good beer, its great beer, but it was 11 bucks for a small pour at the bar i found it in. i know rarity and all that can drive prices up, but thats on the edge of absurd for hoppy beer, even with the importation and all, its more than i usually like to pay for this style. its a pretty classic new england too, nothing particularly unique about it, which was the real shame for me, at that price i want it to be distinctive. soft uniform haze and a high white head on it with some clinging lace. smells like cut citrus fruit and white wheat, no character from the yeast all, which i thought it might have, and not much bitterness apparent either. the flavor is good, kiwi and melon and meyer lemon, fresh considering its distance traveled, and quite juicy and frothy feeling, nice by all measures. it just tastes like what everyone else is doing with these, it just tastes american, which is not what i was hoping for here, especially after hearing so much about these guys and how unique their beer is. my least favorite of the three of theirs i have had recently, and by a considerable margin. very good, but anyone could have made it...

edit; sounds like aw18 is a distinction these guys use for a series of one off beers, not sure what it all means, could perhaps be autumn/winter 2018, which looks like a designation they use on their beers to denote seasonality, but it looks like there are a number of beers of different styles with this denotation. in my experience it was a big hazy ipa on tap at asbury provisions in denver, but the menu just listed it as aw18, so no idea what another name for it might be, but it seems like there may be more than one distinct beer under this name from these guys. any info would be great...

Tap pour from Shelton Festival 2018