Winter Camo
Civil Society Brewing

On tap at the brewery. Murky pale orange. Smells of citrus, tropical fruit, soft maltiness. Tastes of mango, pineapple, orange, sweet pale malt, and a little bit of a grapefruit bite in the back. Moderate sweetness, tempered by the bitterness. Medium heavy. Impressive and pretty well proportioned.

 

Hunahpu’s Day 2018

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 12 days old at the time of consumption. Real psyched for this lil daddy.

Appearance (4.25): This pours a solid three fingers of cappuccino-creamy foam, which cap a murky, orange-tan body. It's opaque. I'm blown away by how creamy the head is, though, which takes its sweet-ass time dying down. Holy shit this is hazy. As the head recedes, it leaves a rocky cap with widely undulating, meringue-like clumps of froth tied to the surface of the beer by long, arcing legs.

Smell (4.75): Fresh cut grass mingles with thick, pulpy, smashed navel orange and passionfruit nectar, along with a very strong gooseberry aroma that evokes good, Marlborough-type sauvignon blanc just beautifully. Just barely underripe mango (your standard grocery store Tommy Atkins type) with a touch of limeade comes out more as it opens up. Goddamn, this is aromatic and gorgeous. Malt's probably in there, too, but who could say. (It's plain, light and bready, with a common cracker character.)

Taste (4.25): Overripe papaya and navel orange meet a slightly sour, dank cannabis character right at the front of the palate. A soft, sweet, mango undertone tries to smooth it out a bit, but that sour, dank component morphs into a yellow grapefruit pith bitterness married to cut grass and mint tea, lasting long into the finish. On the palate at least, some malt comes through in the form of dumplings, baking soda biscuits, and white sourdough-all lean enough to leave the hops all the room in the world to play out, while still adding some body for them to cling to, expressing their fruitier, juicier characteristics alongside bitterness. I'm a big, big fan of the mixture of navel orange and slightly sour herb that's presented here. It's just a touch spicy underneath it all, too, belying the actual size (8.5% ABV) of this beer-about the only clear sign of how strong it is. As it warms up, the burn, juice, and malt blend together more smoothly, but it retains its individual characteristics.

Mouthfeel (3.75): The body is full and slightly above medium weight, but incredibly smooth and creamy. It's aided by smooth, truly velvety carbonation that feels like aerated heavy cream, distributing itself evenly over the palate before puffing up into a thick, smooth foam as it washes out. It tingles gently, but the alcohol and hop particulates here leave a slight burn on the back of the throat. Everything is outstanding, except for that burn (which is well within my acceptable range, but is still present nonetheless).

Overall (4.25): Holy shit this is "New England" through and through. It reminds me a bit more of The Veil than Bissell, but not necessarily in a bad way-it's cool to see more breweries cranking through new recipes to see what works for them and what they feel they can pull off reasonably well. I really dig this beer, partly for its (relatively minor) flaws. They give it a little more character than might otherwise be there, in my mind. That said, the aroma is just absolutely bonkers, and there's a lot about the flavor that I love. The feel, too, has so much goodness. I'm really, really glad I got to try this beer. Next time I'm on the east coast of South Florida, I'm definitely going to try to visit Civil Society again. Definitely recommended!