Wicked Smaht
Troubled Monk Brewery

1L howler from Sherbrooke Liquor store - I didn't know what would be more appropriate as an accompaniment to this brew - that little ol' football game being played right now involving a team from this style's neck of the woods, or something from SNL's recent past. Probably I can do both.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, medium golden yellow colour, with a teeming tower of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly dirty white head, which leaves some decent broadly webbed lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and grainy pale malt, a strong hard water flintiness, muddled domestic citrus rind, further hard to differentiate tropical fruity notes, and some plain leafy, weedy, and piney green hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy cereal malt, a still steady wet minerality, some orange, white grapefruit, and lemon peel, and more edgy herbal, weedy, and musky floral verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly active in its aggressive frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and mostly smooth, as the big hop offensive here apparently has a soft spot for my poor palate. It finishes trending dry, the citrus and forest floor detritus thing putting 'er well into overtime.

Overall - this is indeed a stellar ode to the IPA/DIPAs that have taken the craft beer world by storm in the past few years. Nice and fruity and piney, without too much attendant bitterness, and lots of personality that I am not going to try to elucidate at the current moment. I wonder what the score is? What did Justin Timberlake do? Ah, screw it, I'm heading over to YouTube for another dose of Sully & Denise and other 'Wiked Smaht' moments!

TM’s first foray into the New England IPA craze, and in a simple phrase, “It’s wicked good.” The appearance is on point - hazy yellow with a frothy white head. The fruit notes on the nose burst on the palate. The 14 proof alcohol is imperceptible amongst the absolutely delicious concoction. I’ll be buying this by the growler until they run out!