House Worming Party
Southern Grist Brewing Co.

 

Turning the Imperial IPA into something curiously mutated is going to take some help. Only teaming up with Invasive Species Brewing leads the brewers to a taste that involves milk sugars, coconut, pineapple, lemongrass and ginger, then hopped with Citra, Motueka and El Dorado hops because... why not.

Turbidly goldenrod, House Worming Party crawls into the glass with a matte finish and a white trickle of froth. A light profiled tropical fruit scent leaps right out. Papaya, pineapple, lime, lemon and apple all seem coated in a creamy sweet fragrance. Sweeter on the tongue, a taste of pastry dough hits with nuances of agave, lychee and a gentle meringue maltiness.

The sourness of the ale immediately slices through the malts and begins to highlight the fruit. Lemon curd, pineapple, passionfruit, papaya, guava and kiwi join the complex middle palate for a sensation of tropical fruit cocktail. Bringing the session back to the beer world happens in a bitter late taste that's highly suggestive of grapefruit parfait. An herbal, tea-like bite is remiss of light hemp, sassafras, cedar and gin.

Medium bodied but trending lighter and drier because of the beer's brisk acidity and its peppery bitterness, a bittersweet, sour finish are all moderate on the back of the throat and balance the trailing sweetness quite well. A medium long aftertaste of lemongrass and dry hemp keeps the session refreshing, crisp and highly drinkable.