Zenyatta
Roak Brewing Co.

Earlier today, I reviewed CANother of these hazy Session NEIPAs & since I have some additional time before shoving off for work, I thought that I would CANtinue the trend in the furtherance of The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Zenyatta N.E. Style Session IPA"; "IBUs[:] 30"; "Notes[:] This sessionable IPA is hazy in appearance and brewed with lactose for added body and a pillowy mouthfeel. Dry hopped with Amarillo, Calypso, El Dorado, and Denali hops. Zenyatta has citrus and tropical notes that lead to a clean finish."; "India Pale Ale brewed with Lactose".

I beCAN with some in-CAN agitation since the Notes identified it as being "hazy" & I saw no need to attempt for clarity. I Crack!ed open the vent & CANtinued with a heavy-handed aggro Glug into the awaiting glass. This, in turn, caused the formation of two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with excellent retention. This might have been the "pillowy" to which they referred. For all of my efforts, the color was only a slightly-hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4). Nose was reflective of the current trend of an admixture of current Southern Hemisphere tropical fruitiness & turn-of-the-century PNW citrus & pine, giving it a pronounced grapefruit-mango-papaya smell, underlain by pineapple & pine. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium with a slickness on the tongue that made it feel as though it were sliding right into my throat. The taste did not, unfortunately, live up to the promise of the nose. Like so many Session IPAs, the emphasis was on aroma & not bittering or flavor. Yes, it had the grapefruit-mango-papaya flavor, but it was muted, as though someone had turned down the volume knob at the last moment. 8=( I keep saying that I wish that each brewery would also release a regular, filtered (or non-lactose) version of these Session and/or N.E. IPAs so that I CAN see if something really was missing. In the interim, I simply left feeling sad & unfulfilled. Finish was semi-dry, but that was beside the point. The point was that I wanted more from it and NOT more of the same. YMMV.

 

A: hazy light golden with a thin foam head
S:citrus pine with a hint of grapefruit scent
T:like fresh squeezed grapefruit not as bitter though
M: has a resiny smooth feel and finishes light on the palate. Medium body
O: overall i think it has great appearance. smell and taste are lacking in my opinion. Guess thats why it is a session ipa. The low abv at 4.7 left much to be desired. I probably wont buy it again ,but it is worth the try.

 

 

I tried this at the brewery. It poured a hazy yellow with white head that is leaving some lace. The scent had fruit notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with ripe fruit presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a good beer.

Just a step below M43, the only one I have found that can compete with it. I know they have another version of this out there. This is a good one, this is a great summer sipper like M43. Not as flavorful but definitely worth a try.

 

 

 

 

Two months old. The beer pours a hazy yellow color with a soapy white head and thick lacing.

The smell has some muted citrus and floral.

The taste is floral forward with a bit of citrus and malt underneath.

The mouthfeel is medium/high carbonation and medium body with no lingering bitterness.

Overall this is very nice but overly floral for my taste.