Tang
Trap Door Brewing

Poured from 16oz can into my BeerAdvocate teku. No date on the can that I can see.

Appearance: yellow hue with a good deal of haziness. Head is a thick layer of ivory foam that leaves some chunky lace on the glass.

Smell: tropically earthy, with papaya, guava, and passionfruit, but with a definitely dank aspect. There’s just a dash of vibrant bite from the tropical fruit elements, though, which gives the beer its namesake tang. I dig it!

Taste: a little bit on the sweet side with all those same flavors from the aroma — earthy tropical fruits and this kind of dank hop character that is just this side of BO. I say that in the most respectful way, though! It accords with my palate.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: beers like this show just how wide the “hazy” spectrum can be. Actually, this one has enough of that passionfruit zing to make me think it uses a thiolized yeast — that was a short-lived trend, but I personally love a good thiolized hazy!

 

solid hazy here, good to see so many beers from these guys showing up around idaho of late, some cool brews. this is rather standard fare, well done and all, but not unique on the hop side to me and just a bit heavy, like its tasty but i wouldnt have four pints of it, murky pale orange colored and quite dense and starchy looking under a contrastingly airy white head less than an inch tall from the tap. it smells spicy but not from noble hops or rye malt or anything like that, instead its from saturation, like a green burn spice kind of thing, mild but appreciable, with notes of ripe tangerine, kumquat, and and white wine grape there with it, a little grapefruit juiciness and a catty mosaic whisper, some bitterness apparent as well, bold and a little biting to me, but fresh and appealing, perhaps a light hint of vanilla, there is some sweetness in play too. the flavor brings all of this together, definite orange juice and zest, some pithy bitterness, and just a bit vegetal but a bit less harsh than it smells. citrus oiliness late, grassy for a flash, and earthy on the grain side, plenty of malt supporting the hops, maybe a little unmalted wheat too, it has a rawness along with the body, a hearty and somewhat filling brew with a ton of flavor. i think this could be a tad more refined than it is, but i like the hop intensity and even take a hint of white coconut flake out of this. it doesnt warm up great, and they packed a lot into this, nearly too much, but a fun pint with plenty of personality.

 

 

 

A 16 oz can with an indecipherable blur of date code. Pale, slightly hazy beer, frothy head. Tropical fruit nose, almost too much. Taste follows the nose, it's almost as sweet tasting as it's namesake. The beer lacks balance, no malt base. These guys can do better.

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a IPA glass.

Look- Straw, hazy, frothy white head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Tropical, dank, orange.

Taste- Tropical, earthy, slightly dank, weak flavor, lingering over ripe melon flavor finish.

Feel- Thin body, below average carbonation.

16oz can picked up at Hop and Hound in Bothell, Washington.
Canned on date is 7/9/19. Served in a Samuel Smith pint glass.

Look- Murky and hazy, golden orange with a massive head that doesn't recede, foamy lacing all over the place. Can't tell how carbonated it is because the streaming in the glass isn't visible. It looks like orange juice with a head. About as close to a real NE IPA as I have seen on the west coast, visually.

Smell- Lots of tropical fruit and other fruits. Melons, pineapple, guava, mango, strawberries, blueberries, tangerine, peach, apricot, a little green apple and grapes, maybe a little lemon tang. Pine and hops are non-existent.

Taste- Same as the smell and yet again, the pine and bitterness from the hops are basically not there.

Feel- Light bodied with little carbonation, a little crisp carbonation. A refreshing fruit smoothie. Not bitter, not sweet, perfectly balanced.

O- I won't give this a 4.25, even though, when fresh, it really deserves it. I could drink this all. day. long. Tiny little brewery off I-5 on the way to Portland, Oregon has the best NE IPA on the west coast imo. Nailed it.