Verbal Agreement
Magnify Brewing Company

 

 

This was another Magnify beer that I traded for recently but took a while to get around to. While this wasn't a bad beer, the lightness of the alcohol and narrow range of flavors kept this from reaching it's full potential. As a session brew, this went down easily but it's not the first thing I'd reach for if I wanted something lighter!

Decent golden pour to this with a moderate amount of head that quickly settled. Most of the lacing was along the back side of my pint glass and it was certainly thick and layered enough to stand out. Lots of skunky Mosaic in the nose with a bit of dank citrus, with more of those in the taste as well. Mild tropical fruit was underneath that as this had a juicy mouthfeel and light carbonation to boot. Just a bit of pineapple was in the back but overall, this was pretty mellow as the dank and funky hop bitterness stood out once everything else had faded away.

Wanna drink all day? Grab this beer. I liked it but it could have been more full in terms of body and livelier when it came to the bubbles. As it was, it was worth a go once and probably once again, on a day where the sun would be out and the lawnmowers would be buzzing. Worth a go once for Magnify's growing legion of fans.

 

 

11/27/16....pours cloudy darker gold. Some white foam rings the top, but otherwise not much. Citrus white pepper nose. Tiny malt too. Quick pine bitter and lemon rind taste, quite fast acting. Sneaky bitter at the back. Nice way to use 3.8 ABV. Clearly the child to the brilliant Contractual Obligation.

 

Another holla at SammyJaxxx for this guy. 16oz can poured into 10oz goblet. Poured a very hazy light gold color with about 1/4 inch of white head that had a bit less than moderate retention and very, very light lacing.

A big blast of hops greeted my nose when I popped the tab. Generally, Mosaic ain't my favorite hop, but here, combined with Citra, it worked really well. The musty funk of Mosaic provided both a foundation and contrast for the bright, sunny Citra. No real malt or grain scent or taste. Very similar taste profile, hop dominant.

The body was light-medium, with a clean, dry finish. Drinkability was very good, I could see easily knocking off a few cans or pints. Overall, a very nice brew, one I'd happily have again. Worth your time if you see it.

Thanks again to New Jersey Beer Ambassador SammyJaxx for this brilliant gem.
I begin with my disclaimer. I have found too many Citra/Mosaic IPA's and DIPA's that hit you over the head. Like its base beer, Contractual Obligation, Verbal Agreement shows an amazingly balanced approach to these hops. Citrusy, fruity, maybe even juicy, and overall very fresh. A very tasty brew. But I'm amazed even more when I take a look at the ABV. How did they do it? So much flavor in such a "small" beer.

 

 

 

They did a great job with this low ABV IPA. Lots of Mosaic flavor - pineapple and herbal "wet" tasting hops. Decent bitterness and doesn't feel too thin. Might be the best Session IPA I've had. I'd like to see this as a year round offering. yb

 

16 oz. can into a tulip.

Murky bright orange color.
Nose is citrus, oranges, tropical fruits. Tastes the same, melon and more tropical fruit. Medium body, smooth low to mod carbonation.

overall a really good beer considering the low ABV; lot of flavor there.

Date: Super fresh can just two days after the release!
Glass: Poured into a Magnify Teku Glass.
Style: Session IPA?

Low Visibility has a real rival with this one!

Look: Actually a pretty damn good looking beer. Has that hazy dark orange glow to it. In fact much more hazier than it's bigger brother, Contractual Obligation. O yea by the way this beer is just supposed to bee a scaled down version of Contractual Obligation.

Smell: Much more fruity and tropical than it's bigger bother which seemed to be more focused on dankness and pine. Citrus, mangoes, pineapple, yeast, bready malt. All around a more impressive aroma than it's bigger brother.

Taste: Look im impressed with this beer. For only being 3.8% this beer has tons of flavor going on! I sampled this beer at the brewery from the taps and found it rather thin, but these cans seem to be a little bit more fuller in body in comparison. Does it still fall into the stigma of hop water or hop tea as many have labeled session IPAs? Well yes and no. On one hand the beer has some great hoppy flavor with some bready undertones and yeasty esters, but on the other hand the flavor is short lived and quickly brushed off the pallet by a decent amount of carbonation. But the body is relativity heavy for a beer of this ABV. Personally I love the damn beer and think there is "enough" malt and yeasty esters to give you an all around great flavor.

Feel: Not as heavy as it's bigger brother, super light and indeed crush-able, but this is the intended idea for the beer. So cudos to Magnify.

Overall: I really like this beer, and love that I can drink 2 or 3 and not be down for the night. It has great flavor and offers what I would consider a more hazy experience of Contractual Obligation. It's a well made Session IPA, in fact a great one. According to my review, I like this more than Contractual Obligation!!!! WTF? Well yea I guess so!

 

I had this on draught at the brewery on its release day. 16 oz. pour. It pours a golden-yellow, not quite clear, with a bright-white head and lacing with good retention. For a 3.8% IPA, I was impressed by the nose: a distinct smell of mosaic hops and citrus. Because it's based on the Contractual Obligation recipe it echos Contractual in it's flavor but as a session IPA it lacks the depth of flavor and bite. This is not a criticism but something I expected of a 3.8% IPA. It is, as expected, light and super easy to drink. It has a pleasant carbonation. Overall, if you like session IPA's, then you should like this one. I prefer more substantive DIPA's and Contractual Obligation is a favorite so Verbal Agreement suffers somewhat by comparison. But that's just a matter of personal preference an not a knock on the quality of Verbal Agreement.