Single By Choice - Rakau
New Image Brewing Company

 

this is an awesome beer for a lot of reasons, and such a cool series of beers, seems like they have been doing a ton of them lately. its sort of on the edge between ipa and pale ale, but the distinction really matters little in a beer like this, east coast looking and hazy, and pretty much all about the dry hop. what is awesome here is that i have never experience rakau hops in isolation like this, so its a rad opportunity to learn about what they can contribute to a beer, and in this case its a whole lot. the nose and the flavor burst with ripe yellow peach, honeydew melon, lemon zest, verbena herbaceousness, kiwi fruits, golden pears, its amazing complex, a veritable fruit salad, and obviously another gem of a hop from new zealand! im sure demand for this one will be through the roof if this is what rakay is all about! the beer is just a little too unrefined for me to want to stay on it all day though, heavy with the haze, starchy and dense feeling which is kind of contrary to the lively and rather delicate hop complexion, its weighs me down a little bit and doesnt warm up as well as it starts. still, this is a great brew and a cool introduction to the potential of rakau. i want to get back in here soon and taste some of the other single by choice variants they had working! these guys are killing it!