Babylon
Hudson Valley Brewery

 

 

 

Pours a nice orange colour.

Smell is sour citrus

Taste is the same. Not much going on, pretty sour and a tad sweet citrus. Not getting much in the way of hops, or even blood orange specifically.

Feel is pretty sour but with some body.

Sweet tropical hoppy, tart orange citrus, and hint of earthy hoppy nose on this one! Taste follows with a balanced, earthy hoppy and orange-grapefruit citrus bitter finish. This one is not as salty/briny as the other iterations that I have had...that makes this one pretty good!

 

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $6.99. No canned on date, but I am pretty sure that this beer is pretty fresh (1-2 months or less) as it is very new distribution to PA.

Look: Very pretty. Pours a hazy ruby red color with a nice off-white, fluffy head that slowly dissipated to almost nothing.

Smell: Very nice aroma of juicy blood orange. Some floral and grassy aromas in the background and on the finish. It smells like there is a good amount of acidity here. It does smell like there is a lot going on here, but something is covering it up a bit. Nevertheless, it smells really delicious - can't wait to get into it!

Taste: Very flavorful. This is a winner. It has a great juicy blood orange flavor with nice acidity that is slightly balanced by the Galaxy hops. The finish is mildly bitter and with all the acidity, it is pretty dry. The presence of the lactose is not so discernable to me; it probably helps with the mouthfeel and overall balance so that there is a touch of residual sugar to balance all of the acidity. Kind of crazy to say this, but it's actually "balanced". The bold juicy and acidic flavors are counterbalanced well with restrained hoppy flavors, in a nicely complementary way.

Feel: Has a medium mouthfeel, the acidity really lingers nicely on the pallate and gives this a wonderful impact. Nicely carbonated as well.

Overall: This is my first Hudson Valley Brewery beer. I love sour beers and sour IPAs, so this is definitely a treat. This is a really interesting beer, and I am glad that I was able to get my hands on it. I would say that this is unique, and it is, but there have been so many others that have tried to imitate this style. My understanding is that Hudson Valley is one of the first into this realm and arguably does it better than anyone. Another point of praise about this is that it is very drinkable. My pallate does not feel fatigued from the sweetness, acidity, or hoppiness of this beer and I would be able to drink one or two more of these Hudson Valley beers in a session. I look forward to trying more Hudson Valley beers in the future!

 

 

Pours a peach/pink. Heavy citrus and tart on the nose. Mouthfeel is slick with a nice tartness. Blood orange is heavy on the backend. Almost overbearing, maybe if aged a few months this would really shine. Still an excellent beer.

12 March 2020 - Beer #47

Price: $16.00 at the brewery

Appearance: 5 - This is a stunning beer. Looks like the inside of a red grapefruit. Fluffy white head hung out for a good long while.

Nose: 3 - no fruit at all. Just sour and hops.

Taste: 4 - plenty of citrus, more grapefruit than orange. Somewhat unpleasant musty undertones. Not as sour or as carbonated as I expected.

Mouth: 5 - delightful on the tongue. Lots of action. Almost hard to distinguish between the carbonation and the sourness, and the citrus for that matter. Well done.

Overall: 4 - a nicely crafted beer. I tend not to like beer with citrus fruit, but this one is quite a delight.

Stay safe out there, team.

Cheers!