Washed - Nelson Sauvin
River Roost Brewery

 

Growlette (32 oz) to becher pint glass. Dated 1/12/2018 (when it was filled).
The appearance was a dark paper yellow color with a sustaining cap of a little white foamy head that slid off decently. Superb speckled sticky lace wound around the glass in a filmy way.
The aroma had a thick sweet melon hoppiness up front - balancing grassy sweet hops, some substantial bitter quiver to it. Slight juicy hop concept, but seemed to focus on the melon like I already said and then some papaya.
The flavor was hoppy sweet, nice and authentic. Some bitterness and then a super light white pepper to slight hop spice coming through as it warmed. Moderate sticky sweet papaya to melon-like aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a good sessionability about it. No "hop heat/burn" as sometimes often noted in these New England hop bombs and that's what tells me that this is a superb beer overall. Slight stickiness in the finish with the melon smooth to creamy texture coming about.
Overall, so many APA's on the market and many will want to call your name to try, but if anything, I hope what I described here will assist people in making a decision of what they might be looking for.

 

 

From a 32oz growler filled at the brewery this very day. Served in a (River Roost branded!) spiegelau.

A murky, lemon coloured brew with an enormous snowy-white head of bubbly, pouffy foam - in fact, it looks like lemon merengue pie in a glass. Retention is excellent and leaves fat gobs of sticky lacing all over the glass.

Nose is creamy, dreamy, the full boat of tropical fruit basket, whipped cream and cupcakes. Melon, pineapple, papaya and green apple.

Taste is fruity, doughy and spicy, sort of like a Scandinavian spice cookie with cracked black pepper dominant. Some sweetness in front, moderate bitterness follows, finishes with black pepper and ginger in the sinuses.

Feel is unctuous, mouth-coating and creamy, medium-bodied with ample, fine carbonation. When I say 'mouth-coating and creamy,' I mean it actually leaves your mouth with the feeling that you just had whipped cream in it.

I HATE nelson sauvin. I wasn't going to even try this but Mr. Tap-Pulling Man gave me a taster and, as soon as I smelled it, before I ever put it in my mouth, I knew I'd be bringing some home. On the plus side, I didn't get any of that nasty white wine or apple thing (or not much apple) that I associate with nelson, which was a pleasant surprise, but, on the other hand, the black pepper thing was a little overbearing. So, glad to have tried it but I couldn't make a steady diet of it.