Crusher
The Alchemist

 

 

 

L: Haaaaaaaaazy soft straw color with a frothy lively head

S: Citra from the top rope

T: Grapefruit, bitter resin, sumptuous malt body underneath to keep it interesting. A fruitier Heady.

F: Smooth almost creamy, with quite a dry finish

O: Oh this is a treat. A great mix up from Heady and Focal Banger in their lineup. Comes across like a west coast take on a NEIPA, in the best way.

 

 

 

Poured from a pint can stamped 9-25-24. Body is a faded peach yellow with a small fluffy head.

Aroma is citrus, and a big Citra nose. Taste is bitter hops balanced by a sturdy malt base. Reminds me a bit of Double Bastard, though not quite as hoppy, the malt backbone acts in a similar way to countermand the. bitterness.

Mouthfeel is soft with a heavy weight. Medium carbonation. Things dried up nicely.

A big IPA that feels as large as its ABV. It walks near the line of too malty, but it doesn't cross that line

Pours a murky amber with a full head that slowly dissipates to a thin raft of bubbles. Smell is of lemon with a hint of orange rind along with some herbal notes. Taste is aggressively bitter at first, but that bitterness is quickly overtaken by the fruitiness. As that fades, the bitterness comes back in the aftertaste as faint grapefruit rind. Mouthfeel is interesting - it feels creamy at first, but slips easily down, leaving that mouth-watering rindy finish.

I think I can taste a little of the weed flavor that's in Heady, but here it takes a backseat to the fruit.

Overall a very impressive DIPA - a rare (and perfectly executed) combination of West Coast bitterness with NEIPA fruit. The alcohol is well hidden too.

Update--- A month on, and the beer has gone up in my estimation. The first time I tried it, it tasted like an an Alchemist IPA with the bitterness dialed back a little. Now it tastes like a NEIPA with a reasonable amount of bitterness, which is (somewhat ironically) the sweet spot for me, occupied by beers like Fiddlehead IPA and Tree House Green.

 

Underwhelming.

(16 oz can, Canned on: 04-09-24; purchased cold 4-pack from the brewery two days ago... poured into my Trillium fat tulip)

L: cloudy, murky liquid out of the can; opaque golden amber hue... managed to get almost two-finger high foam; it's a tight sponge in the middle, more open around the perimeter... maintains a misty cap, but laces little

S: white grapefruit, orange rind, lemon muffin at first... after a few measures, some pan citrus flesh and fresh cut grass emerge... it settles out to mushed grapefruits and couch wool... good potency, short on dimension

T: spicy resins punch hard up the middle, peppery through the aftertaste, propelled by the buried booze... perhaps a faint mango tropical undertone... am I detecting some twinkles of fried rice and duck sauce?... floral-kissed, dry citrus pixi stix

F: light-bodied to a degree, just fluffy with inflated hopped foam, spreading powdery slime across the palate... miraculous absence of sludge... saturating and sedating the senses up front while it's fireball dry spice in the afterburn... perhaps the best textures for the style I've encountered

O: it's a solid NEIPA of sorts - one that has some fruitiness, but also has significant contrast (and arguably dominance) from spicy, vaguely herbal, and very green hop character as well... this might actually be a NEIPA I would purposefully buy in the future (2286)

 

Poured into a wide mouth grip shaped goblet: color is straw gold, hazy/murky, head is brighter white and presents one finger thick, some spots on the glass sides.

Smell is dank, sweet candied notes, light onion/grass, toasted malt, citrus, some pine, earth.

Taste is similar with candied hops, dank, citrus, pine, grass, earth, malt and light toast.

Mouthfeel is lower carbonation, moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness.

Overall a very good hazy, more bitter DIPA - great hop aroma/flavor depth and solid bitterness to back the sweetness.

 

 

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Canned June 21st 2023.

Hazed and opaque body with a muted orange but fairly dark and still. A mix of custard but has a much darker than expected color. The beer nearly appears frozen. Head is quite soapy, fine white bubbles of three fingers with light retention. Shampoo like top but lots of ring lacing to match.

Aroma is a hop surprise. Hints of soft dank, but a real gumdrop like candy sweetness that matches nicely. Thick and rich, with a light sense of sweet malt to counter as well. The contrast between dank and sweet hop aroma on this is exceptional. Huge juicy dank sweet punch is the only way I can describe it, like hop thick Kool-Aid.

Palate brings things a little more into focus, but does not hold back. Mid palate hits with a hot but delicious earthy mid palate punch. Large and bold, but controlled hop blasts of pine, earth, juiced candy orange pineapple and mango rolling into a minty finish that just does not quit. It doesn't stop there, with a creamed earthy mouthfeel that feels like a sundae, and smells like sweet tilled garden earth.

A bit of a punishing sensation, but in a real good way, Crushing indeed.

 

 

This is one of the most underrated IPAs out there. Great balance, hop bitterness and malt. No pun intended, but it Crushes it.