Emerald Showers
Civil Society Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted so badly to like this beer. I had some great access to fresh 4 packs which was divine timing but I just couldn't do it. The beer does have a nice nose with tangelo and guava, but the flavor falls flat. Washed out grapefruit and orange with an unbelievable astringent bitterness. Feel is carbonated, creamy, slightly resiny. Overall a very average, perhaps sub-average beer.

Straight pour from a 16oz can to a tall, narrow pint (Green Cheek nucleated flute). This purchased at the brewery on February 24. This batch was, according to a white sticker on the four pack holder, canned on February 20, 2018, making this can one week old at the time of consumption. Yaaaaaay more new FL (D)IPAs!

Appearance (4.25): A good two fingers of bone white foam rise off of the pour, capping a very murky, dark yellow-tan body. The head dies down quite slowly, leaving a surprisingly solid sheet of thin foam all around the edges of the glass, eventually devolving into a thick collar connecting to the foam cap with wide, arcing legs of lace. Great retention!

Smell (4.5): Whoaaaa, this is pungent. This is loaded with papaya up front, tangelo, intensely dank, somewhat spicy weed, warm pain de campagne, nondescript berry aromas, gooseberry, and fresh cut grass. Champagne mango, a touch of passionfruit, and squeezed pineapple juice bring up the rear, as the beer opens up a bit. It just seems extremely aromatic, which is fantastic.

Taste (4.0): The passionfruit and mango appear up front, but thinned out like an unsweetened agua fresca, chased quickly by green banana peel and yellow grapefruit bitterness with a moderate, but noticeable astringency on the back end. There's a firm bitterness present throughout, but a mellow, tropical sweetness largely characterizes the middle of the palate. Any malt here comes through with soft, light starchiness, hinting at baking soda biscuits, common crackers, and a touch of sourdough. And, just a hint of sugar cookies married to the tropical sweetness mentioned on the mid-palate. No booze, which isn't surprising. For how evident the bitterness is, it's surprisingly soft when all is said and done.

Mouthfeel (3.75): Here, the carbonation feels a bit restrained, offering a light blanket of fine-point bubbles to wash over the palate. The body feels full and viscous, but medium-weight at best. That said, while the body feels soft, it dries out with a somewhat chalky feel, as the hop oils and starchy malt just strip away all the viscosity of the beer's heft. Carb could be a touch more present, and the body could be less chalky, but overall it's a full, satisfying beer for its size.

Overall (4.0): This is a really damn solid, extremely hazy, almost juice-bomb-its chalky feel and green banana bitterness hold it back into the side of bitter, dry NE (D)IPA. It's not as good as the last Civil Society beer I had, Hieroglyphics (w/ Mosaic, Motueka, and Topaz), but it's suitably hazy, juicy, hoppy, and bitter. And, all packed into a 5.5% ABV beer. Another winner from Civil Society, and recommended if you're looking for NE-style hop bombs in Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at brewery 7.15.17

The most avg of all CS beers I've had... Hoppier than the others but not as balanced, less juicy, no dank or funk on the floor finish, relatively blah. Seek out Fresh, Pulp and their DIPAs before this one

On tap at CWS Lake Worth. Pours completely clouded and milkshaky. More hop aggression than typical Civil IPAs, but definitely appreciated. Yet another awesome IPA out of Jupiter. Very smooth and drinkable