Gilded
Southern Grist Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

Month-old can poured into a Belcher glass.

One of the creamiest hazies I've seen in a while. Murky, yellow-gold coloring with a fantastic head of creamy, tighly-compact bubbles. Great head retention and tons of sticky, streaky lacing. Incredibly juicy looking, though the murk and creaminess gives me pause that this is going to be a green starch bomb. If the coloring was a little deeper this would be an all-timer on looks. As is (and ignoring the worries about bitter particulate) it's gorgeous.

Huge notes of overripe stone and tropical fruits explode from the glass before I even get my nose in there. Plenty of sweet citrus juice, as well. Very grassy but only moderately dank and weedy, a little resin and a lot of bready biscuit. Medley of berries and grapes as a second wave. It's a big nose but not particularly layered or nuanced.

Flavor profile follows pretty closely but the various fruit flavors are all jumbled together. Definitely leans towards overripe fruits with a decent amount of sweetness. A little pith and just a touch of green starchiness, alleviating my original worries. Danker on the tongue than nose. Some sips I get an almost barleywine-like vibe from the overload of hops and mild booziness. Others its pure fresh-squeezed fruit juice, with a mélange of mango, papaya, grape, peach, apricot, wine grape, orange, lemon, alcohol-soaked pineapple, and red berries. Bitter, pithy aftertaste. Interesting and big but largely in line with numerous other "triple dry hopped" 8.5% hazies I've had before -- at some point what's great for the nose becomes detractive for the taste. Too much is, indeed, too much.

Feel is luscious and silky and coating without being sticky or overly chewy. Plenty of carbonation with a pleasant heat that I think is more from the starchy particulate than the alcohol. But you're certainly aware that you're drinking a big beer.