Rocket Surgery
Aslin Beer Company

 

Pours bright gold with a 2 finger fluffy off white head. aroma is a little weak with some punchy grapefruit and I guess spruce gum. Taste is very present, pungent with tart tangerine pith, white grapefruit and maybe a little white peach and pine. This is not a sweet NEIPA by any means, but that doesn't detract from it (unless you only like sweet ones). It is full of flavor and has a heavy, thick mouth feel that is moderately bitter - maybe on the higher side of middle.

This is a big beer with a ton of flavor and takes a swing at your jaw on first sip. I like it, though my taste for bitter IPAs has waned some. People are downvoting because of the lack of tropical notes, but they are missing the point. It is pungent and punchy and is supposed to be this way. I say rate it for what it is trying to be, not what you want it to be.

No can date, I think it was late July. Can at home, Sept 2020. Not very good at all. Huge amount of sediment. Harsh yeast/hop burn. 3.8 is probably generous, they need to get their $hit together.

 

Nice aroma but does not pop out with the fruit like some NEIPA’s do. Mouthfeel is appealing as well as it is smooth but not chalky and still has just the faintest bite.

This beer can be a Jekyll and Hyde. The first pour from a can is as described above - in a few words, very tasty and a beer I will drink again and again. . . But the bottom half of the can and it’s dregs turn the beer into an acrid tasting back of the mouth irritating failure.

I’ll mix the can before I crack my next one and attempt a rereview.

 

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Fairly standard looking NEIPA, touches of opaque dark lemon body, only a little bit of haze and mild turbidity though. Head creation is slightly off white in color and big. Reaching a solid three nearly four fingers of frothy bubbly retention, with a moderate dissolve. Soapy like lacing and cling round out the finished look. Topping off the beer from the can, will bring the turbid chunk.

Aroma hits a mild sense of dank earth, and a touch of sweet herbality on the nose. Quite pleasant and straightforward with little surprises or fanfare, just nice and solid.

Real nice juiced up body on first sip and impression. A real almost thick creamy tone that provides an excellent delivery for the palate. That mid palate consists of a little more tropical flavor, hitting a bit of pineapple to finishing with more of that creamy herbal sensing sweetness, nearly minty. Aftertaste manage a few black pepper sensations in the mix to break up some of the large sugars.

A pretty solid well rounded NEIPA.

 

Can, no date but believed quite fresh:
Second can, 11 days later:
Little less discolorations from the grapefruit juice reference in original review, though head is still weak.
Oat and woody notes hold up, but the fruitiness is more muted.
More subdued flavors as well, oat with some reedy to woodsy bitterness; light accents of tropical fruits and a little unripe banana.
Feel wasn't bad cold, but as it warms, the burn sneaks in, and once it does, it doesn't seem to leave.

Unfortunately for me, this beer is just a big miss, mainly due to feel. I rarely have this adverse a reaction to a beer, but drinking this beer is actually nearing an unpleasant experience in one of the four categories.

Original review:
An not-all-that-appetizing mix of amber, hay, and orange - like a pulpy grapefruit juice with some OJ and some age. Head struggle a tad as well.

Hoping the color and general appearance were not a reflection of the nose, I take a sniff. There's an odd note that seems a cross of some wheat-like grain note and some fresh cut wood, along with some peach and tangerine, and general overripe tropical notes, moderate in strength as it warms.

Taste has a juicy aspect that is a mix of tangerine, nectarine, a little tropical sweetness like pineapple. Aside that is a light woodsy aspect. There's a slick feel to this, but a little bite grows until it catches the back of my throat. Light, fresh cut pine wood in back.

I'm gonna give this one a chance to sit and I will try again in a week or so, hoping the burn that is really off-putting mellows out a tad.