Green to Green to Green (2018)
Mast Landing Brewing Company

I assumed this was a totally new beer, but it looks like MLBC brewed this back in 2018 as well. I'm gonna assume the hop load is different here, but the ABV is the same as the earlier batch. I've been digging these guys' IPAs a lot lately, so I'm excited to see how this triple dry-hopped double IPA comes across.

G2G2G pours a very attractive orange color with a pretty intense haze to it, though it does retain some relative brightness when held up to light. The head is creamy looking and quite dense, measuring about three fingers at its highest point right after the initial pouring, and it leaves behind some fantastic lace and great legs as it slowly dissipates to a finger or so. Overall, this is a pretty gorgeous looking beer, and one which I am very excited to dig into.

The nose here is absolutely out of control. I had no idea what to expect with the hop bill of Simcoe, Topaz, and HBC-692, but it's taking me for a straight-up ride here. Coconut forward and almost tannic with some notes of sugary grapefruit, lychee, papaya, and toffee. So bizarre, but it strangely works quite well, especially considering this is a celebratory anniversary beer. I am not sure it's 100% up my personal alley, but this is a leftfield-feeling IPA with some definite uniqueness going on. How does it translate onto the tastebuds, though?

My first few sips definitely take a bit of acclimation to get used to what's happening here. The Simcoe definitely brings out a little bit of pine and grapefruit, but the majority of this is very focused on the experimental hop and how Topaz interacts with it. Official tasting sheets for HBC-692 state that it "delivers intense flavors of citrus, flowers, and wood," which is quite a lot of stuff happening. The woodiness is definitely felt, and there's a soft spice and light coconut flavor along with some dense, sweet, nectar-like mango and papaya flavors. I am intrigued by this beer because it's quite different from anything else this brewery has done, and quite apart from most IPAs I've had. Almost has an "oak-aged" quality to it in some respects. The feel here is superb; plush and very soft with understated carbonation and a lighter-than-expected approach to the heavy-leaning ABV. Overall, this is quite a unique brew. Not something I would want every day (one was totally fine, though I kinda expected that), but it shows that MLBC still has a lot of unusual tricks up their collective sleeve. Looking forward to the next four years of trying their beer!

 

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a tulip glass. A gift from a friend who went to Maine. Pours a hazy golden orange with a frothy white head that leave plenty of lacing. Smells like a juicy IPA. The first sip is sweet and juicy with good carbonation and is sticky on the lips. Sweet up front but not overly so with a slight bitterness to the finish. A very well balanced IPA. I just came back from a Vermont beer vacation and this stands up to the best of any of them. It is excellent.

 

Year 2