Fake People
The Veil Brewing Co. - Production Brewery

 

Pours hazy orange, looks like juice with a small white head.
Aroma has hops, ripe stone fruits, mango, papaya, pine, dank.
Taste is same but with more pine and peppers in the finish, really well balanced.

 

 

 

 

 

16oz can poured into spieglau

Got this from my new beer bro Ryan. Didn't get to this one at the Super Bowl share, so I'm cracking it now. My first thought was that this reminded me of the old school fruited Saint Ides special brews. Tropical fruit on the nose, light and creamy body, and juicy taste. This IS a big beer and it isn't masked very well.

 

 

 

Very hazy golden body with a sticky, soapy bone white head. Aroma is big tropical fruits, tons of pineapple, juicy mango. Flavor is very juicy as well. Very tropical and fruity for the high abv. Feel is crazy too, slick, juicy, really no alcohol burn at all. This is a dangerous beer, classic juicy IPA flavor but almost 11%.

 

 

 

Straight pour from a 16oz can to an oversized wineglass (JK stemware). This was released last Tuesday, about ten days ago. It’s been refrigerated almost constantly, so it should be fresh and in wonderful condition!

Appearance (3.5): This pours with a hazy, orange-tan body with the look of unfiltered honey, capped by a finger of ecru-colored foam that dies down fairly quickly. It is 10.7% ABV, after all. It leaves only scattered, thin spots of sudsy lace. It might be disappointing for the style, but the body is gorgeous and I’ll cut it some slack on account of how goddamn strong it is.

Smell (4.5): Immediately after opening the can, this beer’s hoppy wonder is apparent. Pungent papaya and a bit of honeydew mix with sharper passionfruit and tangelo notes. Some sweet dulce de leche fills out a body of big, but not outright sweet malt in the nose, with just a touch of toast. Some green banana peel sneaks in there, too, along with a lot of fresh-cut grass and some herbal quality that I can’t pin down after another pour. I love how pungent this beer is.

Taste (4.25): Mother of god, what? It comes in hot with pithy, bitter grapefruit zest, followed by the distinctly numbing, somewhat harsh feel of underripe mango. There’s a flash of fruity brightness tucked in there, like limeade, before being absolutely swept aside by a strongly resinous, sour, dank character accented by acidic, underripe pineapple flesh and lime pulp. And the booze. It’s big, and it’s clear, and it’s not letting up—but to its credit, this beer handles the alcohol in such a way that there is a bridge between resinous hop bitterness and sour, boozy heat. It’s one of “those” Triple IPAs. Depending on your perspective, it’s either insanely alcohol-forward, or intensely citric. The fact that it’s not clear right away is crucial, to me, as the beer resolves into its boozy, resinous finish (which hangs out for a seriously hot minute). I know there’s malt in here, given the heft of the body, but it’s just completely obliterated by the booze and hops. Holy moly. I can’t believe how long this lingers . . .

Mouthfeel (4.0): Carbonation is modest at first, staking its territory quietly as the body spreads out across your palate, before foaming up with a nice, even tingle. The body, meanwhile, is full and somewhat slick without being heavy, per se. Not that’s it light, by any means. But that booze, and the hop oils dissolved in it, really excoriates your tongue and gums. It’s got a burn, to be honest. Not that I mind. It drinks like a big, aggressive (T)IPA.

Overall (4.25): This beer is intense. Not in an undrinkable, Mikkeller 1000 IBU Ultramate kind of way, but in an unbalanced batch of Hoptimum kind of way. The hops and booze are both seriously in your face, but the beer is crafted in such a way that it’s almost impossible to say where one ends and the other begins. That, to me, is good craftsmanship for a Triple IPA. I actually really enjoy drinking it, though it feels like my palate is getting a good thrashing. I’d say that the beer may have some imperfections and imbalance, but goddamn it’s still fun to drink. Recommended, if you’re looking for a real palate-thrasher.