Empyrean
Hudson Valley Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazy and really pale yellow color with short lived white head. Aroma has dank hops, tart fruits and some sauerkraut. Taste follows tart and citrusy with a background candy sweetness. Some nice fruit seed bitterness on the finish. Medium body with soft carbonation. Really easy drinking with a nice combination of flavors.

 

 

Still pretty new to these sour IPAs but they're definitely growing on me. Like grapefruit juice instead of a less bitter orange juice of a NEIPA. Looks like a wonderful NEIPA with little lacing. Canned on 5/22 so not sure if the age makes a difference with that, although I would think a can would preserve carbonation perfectly. Worth getting again and trying if you like sours. It is pretty tart to my pallet, so do not expect a traditional IPA or you'll be very disappointed.

16 oz. can dated 5/22/18. Won in auction. Can't speak for storage, but cold when I got it. Poured into Belgian ale glass.

L: 1F+ white filmy head with poor retention. Leaves only a tiny bit of lacing and a ring. Beer is a very hazy yellow/gold/orange and almost seethes with light.

S: Intriguing mixture of orange and grapefruit, sour yeast, and lactose. Those aren't supposed to go together!

T: But they do! Sour citrus, especially grapefruit and lemon, moderated with smooth flaky oats and lactose sugar. Yeasty. Finish is more sour than bitter, and is well-controlled (depending on your tolerance for sour, of course).

F: Medium body, pretty well-carbonated. Construction and balance on this difficult variety is superb, as the flavors are well-controlled. It's quite drinkable, and has just a little too much body to be poundable (no body and the sour flavor runs away, I would think).

O: Sour IPAs are a very odd thing, but I really like what they've done here.

 

 

L - pours a ridiculously milky white pineapple juice haze. Borderline pink. So unnatural. Kinda looks like those questionable NEIPAs with all the sludge in the bottom when you condense all of said sludge into the last ounce, pour it in a shot glass, then rip it real quick. Everybody does that, right?

S - honey and sweet tarts. Vague barnyard twang. Grapefruit.

T - sour patch kids and a zesty vein of orange peel and pineapple rind. Oats and baby bottle pop. Cereal grains on the absolute finish without much lingering leftover.

F - light body with what minimal carbonation exists frothing up, but only when swished.

O - solid sour IPA. Nothing really "pops", but it's well-executed and a good example of the style, if such a "style" actually exists!

This one pours a super hazy and milky looking orange color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like sour mango mimosas, with vanilla/lactose aromas, passionfruit, grapefruit, and pineapple.

This is one of the more straightforward HVB sour IPAs so far, as there's nothing additional added. It's super juicy, with all the aforementioned fruits, and a great creamy flavor, and a nice moderate acidity on the finish.

This is medium bodied, creamy, and super drinkable, with a soft level of carbonation.

Like most of their beers, I definitely have to recommend this one.