Some Grass
Moonraker Brewing Co.

 

On tap in Auburn

Lovely, fresh, herbal, floral. This beer just makes me so happy. Yes, there’s stone fruit, citrus and red berries, but this bad boy doesn’t overdo the juice. It’s relatively dry for a hazy, but I have to focus on the luxurious herbal profile. I get sappy pine, wild sage, a friendly dose of wild fennel, and the gold star is a huge dose of Thai basil. Yes, Thai basil, in a beautiful, harmonious package. Fresh is best, a hazy to excite the senses is a worthy deed, indeed. We’re getting grassy. Let’s go.

Can poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours hazy golden yellow with a frothy off white head that settles to a firm layer and laces nicely.

S: Herbal slightly resinous pine, citrus zest, some tropical and stone fruit, subtle floral notes, a touch of bubble gum, biscuity malt, and light caramel sweetness.

T: Up front is resinous pine, earthy herbal slightly dank notes, and a touch grassy, which slowly gives way to an underlying fruity side, citrus, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange, tropical and stone fruit, pineapple, apricot, peach, under ripe strawberry, and hints of passion fruit and mango, a little bubble gum, biscuity malt, and light caramel sweetness.

M: A bit on the fuller side of medium body, slightly prickly moderate carbonation, fairly chewy.

O: If you were blindfolded, the nose and bitterness up front on the first sip might make you think this was more of a Westy until the softness of the body kicked in. Strata definitely runs the show while the Citra provides some nice fruity depth, though I wish it shined through a bit cleaner. Solid, I'd definitely drink another, but I'm not in love with it.

 

 

 

 

Comes in looking like a yellow orange julius, which I guess is the prototype for this style in a way. 2/5" white head. Cool part of this beer is it smells a little bit like the slang nomenclature, there is a mix of tangerine and weed to this beer.

Drinks nice and easy like a trubby pale ale. Strata gives the beer a nice counterpoint bitterness that also brings flavor to the beer in the form of a strawberry weed like presence alongside tangerine and apricot while maintaining a dew point like grassiness. Definite green aspect to it although not rising to the level of a significant burn, it does bring that Strata/Sabro like green bell pepper presence if you look for it. Not problematic.

Light sweetness in the mouth feel. Doesn't become watery or trubby, I think the Strata hop does really well with everything else going on here. Citra just doing citra things.

Its another really good beer from Moonraker. Might not be their 1st tier, but their 2nd tier is still better than 90% of other breweries 1st tier hoppy stuff.

Moonraker does not disappoint.

 

it's alright....

 

 

 

A: The beer is very hazy to cloudy light yellow in color. It poured with a quarter finger high bright white head that left a thin collar around the edge, some specks of bubbles on the surface, and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of gooseberries and limes are present in the nose.
T: From start to finish, the taste has lots of flavors of gooseberries. No bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels medium-bodied and slightly crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This New England-style IPA has intense flavors of gooseberries.

Serving type: can

 

 

5 day old can into a nonic pint.

Murky white yellow with limited head and minimal retention.

Tropical floral and grassy nose, pleasant.

Taste is more disconnected, heavy citrus overwhelms. Finished with moderate bitterness and acidity, acidity lingers.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, slightly full on tongue and swallow.

Wish the taste and nose were better connected for my palate and preferences.

Sweet, orange-citrus, hoppy and slightly dank nose on this one! Taste follows with subdued orange citrus bitterness upfront and then a nice hoppy dank finish. As it warms, the citrus bitterness becomes more prominent. This is enjoyable to drink! It has really good depth and feel for a single and it is not too sweet and very well-balanced! Great!