Ripe - Key Lime
Double Nickel Brewing Company

Double Nickel Brewing Co. "Ripe"
16 fl. oz. can coded "05/03/22-10:11:20" and sampled on 06/16/22
$4.29 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Ripe is brewed with Key Lime and Cashmere and Galaxy hops to a strength of 7.1% ABV. It's a cloudy golden in color with an orange sheen and the head if bright white but it drops readily. There's surprisingly not a lot in the aroma beyond the citrusy and acidic character of the lime given that it's double dry hopped. Am I just missing something here? Has it not warmed up enough yet? No, I'm basically getting just lime pith. On to the flavor then... buzzinga! That's sour! That's like biting into a lime. It tastes like a lime and it's sour like a lime. I'm not so sure that's exactly what they were going for. I get a little bit of hop flavor in the finish but even that's limited. Of course the more you drink the more you get used to the acidity so let's see what happens. In the meantime let's discuss the hops. Cashmere are basically lemon/lime with some melon and stone fruit thrown in. Galaxy are all about passionfruit with some peach and citrus. Both of those hops should support the lime in this case but they'll also get lost in it. Ahh, I guess that's OK, some of our greatest actors tend to stick with the supporting roles so why not have the hops do the same here. On the other hand, they're kind of playing the same role. Let me try it again... I am getting some peach in the nose now which is nice but I'm not finding anything else in the flavor. Wrong, I lied, the malt is coming through more now that it's warming, and that softens the acidity a bit. It's still pretty damned sour. It's not that bitter, although there's some, and keep in mind that limes themselves are bitter. It finishes dry and acidic with some citrus lingering. The head of course dropped and therefore there's no lacing left behind, and in the mouth it's medium in body and biting with acidity but not so much with carbonation as it's been kept in check. At the end of the day I have to say that I'm disappointed with this beer. The balance is off unless you're looking for a very sour beer, and there's just not enough character to keep it interesting beyond three or four sips.
Review #8,075