Unstable
High Branch Brewing Company

*archived review*

16oz can received from brentk56; first experience with High Branch
Poured into a Baerlic Belgian-style tulip

p- opaque light orange w/ a foamy white cap; quick recession
n- soft; predominantly stone fruit
t- follows nose w/ subdued stone fruit, melon, and green hops, over neutral biscuity malt; restrained sweetness; the right elements are there, but not as bold as I was hoping they'd be
mf- full-bodied w/ med carb
o- decent, but much more delicate than anticipated; appreciate the opportunity to try it nonetheless, brentk56!

Review date: 09.07.24
Can date: not captured

 

Stone fruit hop aroma and flavor dominates with a touch of grassy character. Light to medium bitterness. Medium bodied with a light dry hop finish.

A: Pours an extremely murky + slightly milky medium to dark golden honey in color with light to moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and moderate medium golden yellow + bright yellow + pale orange + burnt orange + apricot colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense creamy sudsy foamy off-white head that slowly reduces to a large patch of thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of juicy citrus/grapefruit + stone fruit/apricot + citrus/lime hops over the top of just shy of moderate aromas of biscuit + pale + caramel + oat malts with a light amount of caramel sweetness.

T: Upfront there are just shy of moderate flavors of biscuit + pale + caramel + oat malts with a light amount of caramel sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of juicy citrus/grapefruit + stone fruit/apricot + citrus/lime hops which impart a light to moderate amount of bitterness which fades away fairly quickly leaving moderate lingering citrus/grapefruit hop flavors.

M: Just shy of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Initially slightly crisp with moderate amounts of creamy soft/fluffiness mid-body and a light to moderate amount of dryness in the finish.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a very pleasantly creamy soft/fluffy mouthfeel. Enjoyable with more classic NEIPA hop flavors and aromas but still quite easy to finish. I earned this one with a hard fast 11 mile run this AM and it really hit the spot.

 

 

 

A hazy IPA coming in at 7% ABV, smooth drinking and crushable. Unstable is a constant project for us....guess it is living up to its name! We felt the hop character was a little light with our typical recipe so we opted for a third dry hop addition on this one utilizing Citra. It will be slightly different than the past batches but maybe even more juicy with a bitterness kick on the back end. In the dry hop we used Citra, Falconers Flight, and El Dorado.

High Branch continues to impress with their NEIPAs. This January 2018 version of Unstable is probably their best yet, putting it in the running for the best IPA in NC, it's that good.