Hail Mary
R. Shea Brewing - Merriman Valley

 

 

 

Look: Hazy yellow orange with an inch and half dense creamy, marshmallow-like foam with good retention. Dissipates to a thick layer of foam. Too hazy to see carbonation. Lacing is present. I am partial to clear beers, but it is a NEIPA and haze is part of the style so haze it is.
Smell: Predominantly apricot, pineapple and tangerine. The smell suggests that the taste is going to be sweet. Some subtle berry and floral notes beneath the citrus. The aroma is so full of promise!
Taste: Sweet on the tip of the tongue, the ripe apricot hits first. The sweetness lasts through the sip. Not a lot of bitterness and no sourness. Flavor is quite complex so let’s try to unpack it a little. There is a medley of apricot, citrus, and tropical fruit; apricot, orange, tangerine, red grapefruit (not bitter), pineapple, mango and then some berry, floral, grassy notes under the main flavor. Delicious! Full disclosure, I like beer that is a little bit sweet and this one locks into my palate like a homing device on a missile. Damn, I like this. I am sooooo glad that R. Shea is close enough that I can buy their beer,
Feel: Nice full mouthfeel. Carbonation is perfectly appropriate for the flavor profile. Sweet finish.
Overall: Home run! I drink a lot of beer and this is definitely among the best I have had. Ron (the owner/brewer) has degrees in chemistry and biology plus I think he has the soul of an artist. (I don’t know him, but I have had a lot of his beers). He has brought all of his skill to bear on the NEIPA style and I say that he should be numbered among the best. Somebody PLEASE send me one of the famous NEIPA’s from New England, I can’t see how they would be better than this! I have had King Sue (BA score of 100) from Toppling Goliath and I LOVED it, but this is every bit as good. I hope R. Shea is able to expand to a much larger distribution so more of you can try this but until then, I am open to trades!

My brew selection criteria includes getting the freshest IPAs. Lately, all of them seem to be New England style. Things could be worse. This one sounded the best of the remaining 6 or 7 in my refrigerator with its big ABV.

Hail Mary opens the requisite fake cloudy plus it has a decent head that lingers. A poof of alcohol aroma! The aroma is most pleasantly sweet and not skunky at all (we will see if it changes - if any of it manages to get warm - these are best cold). The taste is exquisite - mostly sweet, more so than others - the double is what I often wish for with New England IPAs. This one follows through on that and reaps the rewards. A triumph.

Highly recommended.

My first from this brewer.

Opaque hazy yellow color-soapy 3 finger head-nice lacy.

Smells of sweet fruits and a bit of booze.

Taste is sweet orange, pineapple and a touch of triple sec.

Mouthfeel is medium-heavy with a nice amount of carbonation.

This is not bad at all. A touch sweet and boozy but this could be tweaked into something impressive. Good but could be great. Worth a shot.

Fully opaque maize yellow, closer to pale orange at the edges, with a short off-white head that settles to a thin ring.

Hail Mary's got a full NEIPA body delivering notes of Sweet Tarts and Smarties with a touch of graham shortbread malt. After the semi-dry, chewy finish, and as it comes to temp, orange juice and triple sec surface on the exhale.

A little sweet, a little boozy, and a little sharp. But also tasty.