The Three Legends
R. Shea Brewing - Merriman Valley

 

 

 

Hey! The first beer I've had from R. Shea that I didn't have to add to their list of beers on BeerAdvocate! This stuff is really f*cking good. It's not the most visually appealing brew or can art, but it excels past most oter IPAs in every other area.

 

Look - Nice big white head and lacing with a slightly tan oragnish color
Smell - Fruity malty
Taste - Really nice balance for a new with a oat backbone and fruity taste. Can't really make out the fruit
Feel - Fairly thick wit ha slight cream
Overall - Pretty tasty

16oz can, served in a Duvel tulip glass. Canned on 01/27/21 10:48:45 134:FV1

Appearance: Completely hazy/opaque golden yellow with a massive white rocky head, with lots of lacing all over the glass. Nice looking beer.

Smell: Fresh cut orange, citrus, tropical fruits (mango, pineapple), and just a hint of something pungent at the end, but not in a bad way.

Taste: Tastes a lot like it smells, with a lot of citrus (orange and bit of lemon) and tropical fruit flavors (mango, pineapple again). Malt is somewhere between cracker-like and bread like, but it's there for an accent - the hops are doing most of the flavor here. The finish is a tiny bit spicy and citrus rind bitter.

Mouthfeel: Smooth - good thickness. Prickly carbonation and a bit of spiciness on the tongue. Some definite hop oils on the teeth.

Overall / Drinkability: A very drinkable and rather enjoyable NEIPA. Part of me thinks this would pair really well with food - I'm getting the vibe of chicken breasts or salmon for some reason as being something really good to have with this. But by itself, it's a very nice end-of-day beer. I do think only one per evening though. 16oz is enough for me with the full-flavor experience I'm getting here.

Single can from rivalrybrews.com

 

 

Very hazy yellow-3 finger off-white foamy head. Decent lacing.

Fresh mango, papaya and citrus on the nose and palate. Starts on the sweet side and ends with a slightly bitter finish which I found appealing.

Mouthfeel is medium-light with lovely carbonation.

I am impressed. This one stands out in a very crowded category. I will definitely revisit soon.

 

This style is overexposed. Since I now do all my shopping by delivery or pickup, I've added to my list for the coming week, "no New England IPAs." I don't care how fresh they are, I need a break from them.

With the world overflowing with New England IPAs, there is some tough competition out there, and this one is pretty undistinguished. It finishes in the middle of the pack, at best. It pours a very pale yellow with the usually fake looking cloudiness and pretty decent head. The aroma is mildly skunky, but definitely has some funkiness to it. The taste follows through with a bit of something gone bad, like this will be horrible in a month or two (it is only three weeks old). The yeasty badness gets old fast and the hops bomb is not strong enough to cover it. Some of the bigger versions of this style were more palatable, but this normal ABV one doesn't work for me.

Not recommended. Unfortunately, I have two 16 oz. cans. No more New England IPAs.

 

 

 

 

Look: Hazy and yellow (SRM 3 or 4) with an inch of foamy head. Minimal lacing, but who buys a beer because it has great lacing? Too hazy to see any bubbles.
Aroma: Fruity aroma of clean citrus,orange (more than orange pith), tangerine, nectarine, pineapple, mango, some berries, some floral.
Taste: Tastes is sweet on the tip of the tongue and the sweetness lingers through the taste. Soft fruits; think guava, mango, pineapple. Some bitterness comes through but there is sweetness from the front of my tongue to the back and though I am describing it as sweet, by no means am I suggesting a cloying, overpowering sweetness. Personally, I think they nail the balance expected of a great NEIPA.
Feel: Feels full and bright in my mouth. The malt comes through more in the mouthfeel than in the flavor.
Overall: Very drinkable! I'll definitely buy it again. I had this at the brewery on draft and also at home in a can. There is not a lot of discernible difference. Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe are my three favorite hops and they are skillfully combined in this beer. R. Shea may be local for now but I can see them expanding with the quality of beer that they produce. Judging from the number of ratings and reviews, this is largely an undiscovered beer. I haven't had the famous New England beers but for those of you who, like me, don't have access to them, TRY THIS! I have had King Sue and I think this is right up there with that beer. I don't often have access to King Sue but side by side with Pseudo Sue this is FAR better and Pseudo Sue has a BA rating of 100!

Corn milk yellow, opaque, with a fluffy persistent tall white head leaving thick brick layers of lace.

Taste starts sweet and deftly transitions to dank and resinous. Mango candy and pineapple becomes eucalyptic pine resin and cannabis via a smooth round medium body that comes to a chewy dry finish. Sweet Tarts and spicy allium continue to clash in a delightful way.