Mo' Hops Mo' Problems
Barbarian Brewing

Draft at downtown taproom. Hazy, milky pour, soft white head. Aroma seems weak, but it is served ice cold, so that could be affecting it. Taste brings the requisite citric tartness, no new ground being tread here. Pretty standard fare.

16oz crowler into an IPA nonic.

A: My goodness this one looks the part for me; super-hazy straw color, not bright but certainly juicy-looking. Huge fluffy white head and lace.

S: Hmmm. Well it’s soft and floral and definitely citrus-leaning, with some nice overt dry hopping, but it doesn’t explode the way I want it too. Still juicy and tropical and floral.

T: Follows the nose, not an explosive palate but still tasty and approachable; peach, mango, some green piney qualities, soft pillowy malt in a crackery undertone. Washes away more quickly than I would like.

MF: Smooth, creamy, and soft, very nice and to-style.

O: Don’t think I’m being too nit-picky; this one is good but not great. I would cozy up to a bar with this almost any time I’m looking for a softer pale NE-style, but could use a little more hop flavor or maybe even some malt sweetness to carry the beer forward.

a cool new ipa from these guys, a little more modern and dry hoppy to me than some of their others i have had in this style,. insanely hazy, more than it needs to be, looks almost sloppy and unrefined in the glass, super starchy and thick, not how i like these to look. its done with a new hop, new to me anyway, called moutere, coming out of new zealand. i dont think its the only hop in here, but i can tell its quite distinctive anyway, with notes of kiwi fruit flesh, green grape skins, dandelion greens, and white peach, its interesting and soft, and its delicious in this context. it would probably be delicious in a pils too, or wait, maybe a clear ipa too?! the density of the malts in here and its lack of being cleaned up is a turnoff here, even with such an engaging new flavor from these hops, i dont love the beer because its heavy and raw in a bad way, and even though the carbonation is there, i want to taste these hops in an objectively better base beer. this is the only beer from barbarian so far that i thought this about, the rest have been really professional and dialed in, so not sure why they are bothering chasing this trend, their other hoppy beers have been excellent. this is still good, and its unique enough to warrant another pour, even though it needs some work, which i guess is cool. i will have my eye out for more of these moutere hops, i think they are onto something with that...