Jonah
Mast Landing Brewing Company

Very excited to finally have a can of Mast Landing's Jonah in my glass. I believe this is their first DIPA that isn't super hazy, instead combining aspects from old-school WC IPAs with their NE knowhow.

The pour here is a semi-clear golden color with some goldenrod/yellowish highlights when held up to direct light. Honestly, it's a really nice looking beer, though the head formation/retention could use a bit of an improvement; the foam collar here only really builds up to a finger-and-a-half at its highest point, though it does leave behind some good legs and lacing. Overall, Jonah is a good-looking DIPA with a decidedly "non-NEIPA" appearance to it, which is a cool statement to make from a brewery that tends to make hazier pales.

The nose is candied grapefruit, ripe mango and papaya, pineapple, slight dankness and pine resin, and a touch of grassiness with echoes of stone fruit in there as well. It's a complex little number, but not dissimilar from some other IPAs I've had in the "new-school DIPA" category. It reminds me a little bit of something like Castle Island's Hi-Def, which is yet another "no-coast" double IPA with a semi-hazy appearance and the use of some rather brusque, new-school hops in its recipe. This apparently features Citra, Mosaic, Idaho 7, and El Dorado, which is almost like a "who's who" of modern fancy IPA hops (it's just missing, like, Nelson or something). I enjoy what's going on here, and I have no doubt that it will be satisfying on the palate as well.

My first sip is very grassy and dank with notes of blueberry, raspberry, black and green tea, grapefruit, orange rind, pomelo, and mango with a touch of resin. Just great, honestly, and it's been a while since I've had something like this. It has a lot going on but feels right and situated in the exact place it should be. A little bit of malt sweetness works well in the mid-palate to bring out some of the complex hop interactions, which translate as more mango, apricot syrup, pineapple, and honey. The feel is slick and complex with a coating element and low-medium carbonation. This definitely tastes its strength, but I would say that it is a very fitting drink for that strength; not too much, and not too little. Perfumey alcohol that enhances the entire experience shows up here and there as well... this is lovely. I like some of their other hazier DIPAs more (or as much, I suppose), but this is great in its own way. Worth a drink for sure.

 

 

Pours a pretty cloudy peachy color with a huge, rocky cap of foam. It hangs respectably and clings tenaciously to the glass. Hefty cap remains after the fall with chunky islands.

It smells tropical and citrus. Lots of mango, some peach/apricot, sweet melon like cantaloupe, fairly strong orange. Slight floral and herbal smells.

The taste is mostly in line with the smell and is very nicely balanced between the component flavors. There's a little more bready malt in the taste and a little earthiness. Surprisingly I'm getting a little bit of a grape/wine taste. A little floral/herbal flavor floats over the top. A bit of spice in the aftertaste.

The feel is soft, medium carbonation, slightly drying and surprisingly clean with little lingering flavor - except for the spicy note, sorta like cinnamon candies.

Like it - it seems to be in between a full-blown hazy and WC version, which I think is what they were aiming for. Good, tasty, well-made, but unremarkable I think is my overall feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

Trash parent like a lager or pilsner. Crisp like one too. Almost confused like a crispy IPA, not great not horrible

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 2/23/21. Pours a slightly cloudy yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with nice retention. 4

Aroma is mango, peach, melon, mandarin, and apricot. 4

Taste follows mango, peach, mandarin, honeydew, and apricot balanced nicely. 4

Mouthfeel is medium, plenty of carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.1% extremely easy drinking. 4

Overall this is a really nice DIPA. Tropical without all the haze. 4

 

Canned on 1/4/21 Batch 15
Opened and reviewed on: 1/14/21
Edit review** From batch 22 canned on 9/13/22. Opened and reviewed on 9/29/22

A clear burnt golden color.. did I mention it's actually clear?!! ** More haze this time, looks white frosted. Frozen windows style.
Chunky and sticky white foam clumpy cover with big lace.

Spicy and sweet tropical fruit hop aroma hits first, very sweet citrus and ripe berries. Effervescent grainy malt also has a certain sweetness I like. **Peppery citrus booze and fruits.

A very soft and relaxed malty mouthfeel has a large presence of tropical and sweet citrus fruits in the hop flavor. Dry and grainy malt with a boozy heat rides through quickly. Dry earthy pencil shaving style aftertaste isn't nearly as impressive as some of the same style.**Dry, muted earthy citrus, peppery, heavy malt even though it's a light golden grainy malt. Lager type slickness.

Dry plumb and leftover slick malt us not all that great in the finish, the hop depth is middle of the road and the amber, medium bodied malty flavor and feel has some leftover whatnots I'm not a fan of. Dry hopped but with very little depth. Maybe a nice spicy kick right at the end.
*"Crisp, dry, boozy but then finished malty slick, but this time with a lingering bitter effect.

This one is just not my thing. Bonus points for being different, but still a pass.** So, I went and gave it another shot, different year... And I feel it's slightly different in it's quality. More upfront dry earthy tones and citrus hops. Malt still gets too heavy.

Mast Landing Brewing Co. "Jonah"
one pint can, "CANNED 03/24/20 BATCH 12 07:01". Sampled on 06/26/2020.
$4.99 @ Shop Rite Wine and Spirits, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Nice label with great colors and subdued graphics. The beer is a hazy orange in color with golden highlights beneath a good-sized head of white foam. The aroma is both fruity and malty. It's sweetish with tropical fruits including mango, orange, and nectarine. There's a little bit of pine and earthiness in there as well, and maybe some non-tropical fruits like apple and grape. On to the taste... well surprise, surprise, it tastes pretty much exactly as the aroma suggests it will be. I do get some added spiciness/earthiness, and an additional fruit although I'm not sure what it is. The alcohol has a presence to it, particularly showing in the finish, but it's not overdone and it actually helps to balance it along with a firm bitterness. It dries readily in the finish, and unfortunately the fruitiness fades quickly leaving just the spicy earthiness behind. In the mouth it's medium to medium-full in body, and gently crisp. Across the board it's pretty solid, and it's very nicely balanced.
Review #7,029