Ectoplasmic Orange
Decadent Ales

16oz can from Half Time. Bright orange, hazy pour, fizzy white head. Aroma is orange juice. Taste mutes the orange juice notes a bit, still lots of orange flavors, but it tapers off to a kind of lackluster finish. Still pretty damn tasty.

 

 

 

 

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a snifter glass. Had an orange-ish color and a cloudy consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, somewhat long-lasting head. Average lacing.

S: A pretty good aroma of citrus fruit, hops, malt, pine, and tropical fruit.

T: Tasted of a hint of pine (just enough to make things interesting), some malt notes (mostly in the finish, though subtle), a good shot of citrus fruit (orange and tangerine; the dominant ingredient, as expected), and a bit of tropical fruit (mango, in particular). This is a zesty, fruity, and lively flavor. It's not one dimensional, but citrus does rule the roost.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a vibrant finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A likable, light and fruity beer. Worth a try.

 

 

 

About as bitter as you'd want a bitter orange before the bitter is too bitter, Decadent Ales step back from their pastry sweet tendencies for an orange fueled IPA that actually appeals to the more bitter palate.

Lightly turbid in its heavy translucence, Ectoplasmic Orange floats an illustrious eggshell from before reeling in the senses with a radiant citronella perfume. Its creamy sweetness is moderate on the early palate, redolent with sherbet, cream soda and shortbread.

The flavors of all-things-orange just blossoms on the middle palate as the citronella character comes alive with anything from branch ripe tangerine to mandarin orange and blood orange. Plump, juicy and vivid in its creamsicle display, the beer is just bursting with valencia character. Trending firmly bitter, the late palate develops from the citrus peel and registers like verbena, hemp, tea and fresh spruce on the late palate.

Full bodied but reasonably full for an imperial IPA, the finish comes with a spicy bite to accompany the lingering bitterness. Elements of gin-like botanicals and the peppery taste of vodka reads warmly on an extended, herbal aftertaste with the bitter resins of citrus oils lingering onward.

 

CAN: 16 fl oz pull-tab ran me $5.49 USD plus tax at a beer store in New Orleans, LA:

"Double dry hopped India Pale Ale with Tangerine and Orange zest." 8.7%. "All Citra."

Vaguely pulpy and citrusy. Honestly, I don't taste overt tangerine/orange zest; in a blind taste test, I'd figure the fruitiness was from hops only. Falls flat in that regard, but it's still balanced and enjoyable. I've had much better Citra-hopped IPAs, but it's not a bad beer by any stretch. It hides its ABV well and it's nice to drink, but it doesn't rival something like Kern River's Citra - and even tastes less complex (which, given the use of actual fruit zest, is disappointing).

An enjoyable IPA, but not a great one.

Low B- / WORTHY

 

I'll take Citra and Tangerine for $5.39, Alex.