Incandenza
Hudson Valley Brewery

 

Pale hazy pour. The nose is sour fruit candy. The taste is very wheaty. That is what sticks with me throughout the tasting process. There are also some nice lemony and citrus notes and of course the sharp tartness. It has a nice mouthfeel but that is counteracted by the tartness. Overall it's a nice beer, don't get me wrong, but I don't think this is the one you want if you want to experience the hype behind this brewery.

 

 

First, what makes this an IPA? It's got wheat, oats and lactose and it's sour. Sorry, but even without looking at, or tasting it, that's not an IPA. Sure, there can be IPAs infused with some of those ingredients, but when these are the only ingredients, other than hops, it flat out isn't an IPA. That aside, a pint can is emptied into a clear glass liter mug. Other than some continuous carbonation there's little to like. Claim to be an IPA, get judged by those standards. There's no head, which is actually preferred to the starchy white mess usually accompanying wheat infused ales. The color is a dull and dirty straw-yellow that's opaque. Let's hope it doesn't taste worse than it smells. It brings some sourness, but so does vomit. Although it's not that bad, it's an unavoidable reference. Other than that, the aroma is a muddled mix of some vague graininess, some vague hoppiness and sour fruit. Thankfully, it drinks a little better. The taste is slightly tart and slightly sour, which is it's best attribute. Like a pineapple sour, maybe? The lactose isn't too cloying, so it goes lightly across the tongue. But, there's no malt body and no hoppy bite. Again, how is this an IPA? Dying for the chance to drink anything somewhat sour on a hot day, maybe. Other than that, this is a definite pass.

 

 

Don't know about the other reviewers, but my pour was golden and not hazy at all. Totally a west coast style. Trace of head that dissipated rather quickly. The date code on the bottom of the can says, "DRINK NOW". Really? You have a dating machine and you don't use it to date the beer? Getting sour notes on the nose, combined with the fruitiness from an IPA. Sour notes make it hard to discern hop scent among stone-fruit, citrus or piney. Taste lives up to the billing of 'sour IPA', but I'm not sure it works for me. Thin mouthfeel with medium carbonation.

 

 

15th Review. My first from brewer. Love Hudson Valley water and beers.
a) Grapefruit hazed juicy body, head and lace skims.
s) Reminds of a porch beer, a saison and it's a sour IPA, not really an NE IPA.
so citrus with lemon rind, earth, funk, grass, orchard.
t) Follows aroma, something special there, a kind of metallic earthy minerally pucker. Kill the terminator.
f) Puckery, clean. yet like lemon custard.

Pours a hazy and very pale yellow/straw color with minimal white head and lacing. A blast of citrus especially lemon/ lime on the nose. Tart taste with a massive amount of lemon and lime which dissipates to mild hops at the backend without the bitterness.

 

 

 

No canning date (released on 6/11/20, so presumably canned within a few days of that date)

Pours a hazy lemon-straw body capped with two fingers of soapy, off-white foam; head recedes quickly to a paper-thin, spotty cap, thin collar, and minimal, temporary spread of webby/spotty lacing.

Aroma is lemon zest-forward as vague undertones of tea leaves and wet wheat accent; passionfruit, grapefruit, and overripe pineapple develop softly over the middle, with touches of vanilla and lactic acid rounding out the bouquet.

Taste brings lemon tea with touches of milk sugar and grapefruit zest upfront; level lactic funk progresses across the mid-palate as hints of fruity esters bring passionfruit and tropical zest to the back end of the profile.

Mouthfeel offers a medium-light body carrying a mild acidity, and a carbonation just a touch below moderate, though active and spritzy; the slightest background creaminess evolves over the mid-palate before drying to a mild, faintly bitter, and tart 'pop' through the finish and swallow.

An excellent standard for a sour IPA, with Hudson Valley's signature oat/wheat/milk sugar treatment not overdone and instead contributing the deftly interwoven subtleties which result in an end product both extremely quenching and with burgeoning complexity.