Super Bad
Interboro Spirits and Ales

I recently won an online lottery on a different social media site & although I had to pay for shipping, it was totally worth it! Eight (8) 16-fl. oz. Pounder CANs, six of which I drank & reviewed for NBS (Week 659). I am off for Columbus Day, which may seem like a good thing, but if I don't work, I am not getting paid. Such is the hardscrabble life of a day-to-day substitute teacher. 8=( In the interim, I am furthering The CANQuest (tm) today.

From the CAN: "Water. Grain. Yeast. Hops. These simple ingredients are the essence of beer. At Interboro, we honor the past and move boldly into the future, blurring lines and pushing boundaries, and enjoying every minute of the crative journey. Come visit us in Brooklyn to learn about what goes into each product that bears the Interboro brand."; "Malt[:] Golden Promise, Wheat[;] Hops[:] Ahtanum, Centennial, Simcoe[;] Yeast[:] American Ale".

I love a nice, loud Crack! In performing this one, my kitchen suddenly smelled like a roll of Tropical Fruit Life Savers! Mmm. I don't think that they are made any longer, but those used to be my fave, along with Clove. No B.S., they used to make Clove Life Savers! I digress. My slow, gentle Glug made no difference to this cloudy NE-style DIPA, but it did require that I perform an in-glass swirl to raise a finger of dense, foamy, tawny head with great retention. Color was a cloudy Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9). The CAN marked it as SRM = 4, but this looked much darker. I prefer a bit of filtration myself, even just a modicum to reduce the utter cloudiness. Nose had a cattiness that revealed Simcoe the Kitty's presence. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach. The CAN measured its IBUs as 60 & this was every bit of them! Man, this had a bitterness that would not quit. This was a DIPA for a hophead & thankfully, I am one. Warming, the tropical fruit flavors began to emerge, pushing Simcoe out of their way, despite her hissing protestations. Phew! This was no playing around. Finish was dry & bitter, but it left a grainy, powdery feeling in my mouth, along with the hoppy bitterness. I just CANnot get behind this whole trend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up cans at the Stay Gold release, didn't get around to cracking one til tonight...canned 2/7, so a month and a week...little older than I like to let an IPA get, but this hasn't fallen off. A bit resinous on the hop spectrum with tickles of tropical fruitiness...wish I tried this fresher. Good, but nothing crazy, particularly for a IIPA.

$7 per 12oz draught pour @ the brewpub.

Pours hazy, milky, and murky. Muted orange colour. Obviously unfiltered.

Pulpy citrus dominates the lively hop-driven aroma, with notes of citrus zest, tangerine, and onion. Slightly tropical.

Taste is balanced, delivering on the aromatic promises of orange pulp, citrus zest, tangerine, and orange flesh. Not so juicy or fresh as to indicate Citra, but not so tropical as to indicate new world Australian or Kiwi hops. Pale malts balance out any hop bitterness.

There are no faults or off-flavours here, and it hides its 9% ABV well, but its hop pungency is a bit limited. Too reticent to boast much depth of flavour.

TEXTURE: Smooth, pulpy, lumpy, wet, uneven, unrefreshing, a bit too thick and full-bodied, with too heavy a presence on the palate. Not oily or juicy.

OVERALL: Underwhelming fare for an imperial IPA, lacking fundamentals in terms of an interesting hop profile/flavour. Drinkable and pleasant, but the discerning drinker will find it underwhelming. It'd be tough to justify a second purchase of this when vastly superior expressions of the style such as Lagunitas Sucks are available for much better prices across New York City.

C (2.92) / AVERAGE

 

 

Picked this up at Interboro when it was released, as it had the date of 2/7 on the bottom of the can with "Sex Machine" (RIP James Brown) written above it. Loved the stone fruit and nectar present in this beer as this one had a nice up-front punch to it before settling down to a sticky, sappy brew that was just as fun to drink as the label was to look at!

The pour to this was nice, as the beer had a cloudy and golden hue to with plenty of head to boot. A few thick rings of lacing were left along the side of my pint glass as I worked my way through this with the smell of mango and papaya in full force right out of the gate. Some peach, nectar, and citrus dankness were underneath that before some English-tea and weed kicked in afterwards. Funky in a fun sense, the sweetness really tied everything in together nicely and kept this from feeling too spicy or heavy as the English Pale Malts gave this a mouthfeel not normally found in beers of this type. A medium and balanced body and light carbonation rounded this out, allowing the flavors to linger for quite a while after the liquid went down.

This was strong and I could feel a nice buzz once I finished this off but the strength of this beer was not to be found in the alcohol. A nice coating of fruity nectar was left on my mouth and stayed long after I washed out my glass, proving that indeed, this beer was Super Bad! Nice job by Interboro here with the name, package, and brew - this one's guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

 

 

This is my first beer from this brewery and it's not too bad. It looks super inviting not too murky or hazy but I have extra chill haze to mine. The smell is light with grapefruit, orange, mango, caramel. The taste mirrors the smell with added pine bit to it mid way. It feels smooth and balanced. Cheers

Pale gold haze body with white mousse head and lotsa lace trails down the glass. Ample citrus and fruit and fresh grain aromas. Stays true to the nose with the sip, having a nice fruitiness, juiciness, and moderate sweetness and bitterness; plush soft carbonated feel, clean-finishing. It's a really good beer in the spirit of many similar brews on the market these days. No reason not to grab it - you'll certainly enjoy it.