Viognier Purelake
Hudson Valley Brewery

Traded for this a while ago as the date on the bottom of the can read 6/12/18 with "DRINK NOW" written underneath that. Wine? Beer? Sour Ale? Wild Ale? New England IPA? This seemed to straddle all of those lines as it was one of the more interesting brews that I've had in ages and one that turned out to be quite complex once it fully warmed up!

The top of the can burst out a bit before opening so the pour wasn't what I had hoped as I couldn't open this all the way. What dripped out foamed up quite intensely in my pint glass and took it's time to settle down. Surprisingly, the lacing that was left behind was quite faint aside from a thin ring that wasn't too far from the top. Lots of white wine, strawberry, peach, and wood in the nose as the taste contained lemon, dry lime, creamy sweetness, and sourness all in one deep array. A lively carbonation combined with a fruit patch feel made this something that didn't last long in my glass, even though each sip was quite small.

There's booze here but with so much going on and an underlying funk, it wasn't easy to detect at all. Can't say that I've ever had anything like this but once again, Hudson Valley's come up with something out of the blue that has me wanting the other Purelake iterations...

 

 

 

Golden sunrise in appearance. White head. Minimal lacing. Green eucalyptus and herbaceous aroma. Vanilla-bergamot syrup that is similar to acacia; it has an earthy, woodsy musk. Tastes like a shipment of pineapple and passionfruit in a wooden crate of straw. Cleansing lemon carrying notes of tarragon and crisp cucumber; a cross between a chayote and a melon. Key lime chobani yogurt.Tarter and funkier than their other 'sour IPAs'; I'm thinking this is something more than a kettle sour that just serves to enhance sweet, hoppy nectar. Very approachable and refreshing. Med body with cake batter like feel, and seels a bit flat; however, it manages to be dense, bright, juicy and light simultaneously.

A complex, layered experience. This beer was a surprising mix of elements I expected to be discordant, but HVB weaves them together in a brilliant way. Almost like a wine parfait in beer form, this one is sweet, creamy, tangy, and bright with a perfect hint of hops dancing with tannins.

 

 

 

 

 

This one pours a very hazy and murky orange color, with a small head and no lacing.

This smells like peach, sweet white grape, vanilla, lime, floral hops, and sour grapefruit.

This is a wonderful and confusing beer, like most beers that HVB produces. It's got a great creamy and lightly acidic taste to it, with sweet cream, lemon-lime yogurt, white wine/Nelson hops, creamy peach, white grape, and piney hop flavor. There's a lot going on here and I love it.

This has a very creamy and rich mouthfeel, with a high level of drinkability.

This is yet another HVB mad scientist experiment that worked out perfectly.