Caribbean Haze
Black Hops Brewing

This beer is a NEIPA brewed with Capricorn Distilling's spiced rum.

In the glass the beer is a lovely sunset orange with a thick, bright white head that laces the glass on the way down.

The aroma is fruity with initial hits of pineapple, but devolving to a yeasty, creamy aroma as the beer warms.

Taste is initially strongly pineapple with some guava and mango and no rum, but as the beer warms the rum begins to dominate, especially retronasally. Towards the end there's some creamy fruitiness that's difficult to define but which definitely plays second fiddle to the rum. There's a bit of hop burn at first but it settles as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel is full and pleasant.

Overall, the beer starts out like a standard NEIPA, but the rum certainly helps it diverge from the mean. Whether that's a good thing is up for debate, and for mine it's a change from routine that I don't think I'd actively seek out going forward. That said, it's great to see the NEIPA category being messed with, and I look forward to playing along as it continues to evolve.

Cheers!