Coconut Almond Macaron
Decadent Ales

Another new and fun DIPA from Decadent, this time mimicking the French macaron. Brewed with coconut, almond, "a variety of sugars," and dry-hopped with Mosaic, this promises to at least be really interesting. I've generally been a big fan of Decadent's stuff, though some of it is certainly one-and-done, and sometimes they don't quite hit the mark on what they're trying to do. Let's see what's going on with this one!

Pours a pale yellow-golden color with pretty much no head or lace to speak of. Hmm... usually, Decadent makes really nice looking DIPAs, but this one really isn't inspiring me. It has a completely-uniform haze to it, and it doesn't even have the characterful "suspended solid" approach that their Winter Spiced French Toast had. Even a hard pour here barely gives off a finger of foam, and what does result from said pour just falls out of existence within about thirty seconds. Yeah, this isn't great off the bat.

The nose does wonders to bring me back into focus on this beer, though... I get immense notes of ripe mango, coconut, almond, pineapple, and passion fruit. It's just a great smell that blends everything they list on the label with some hoppier elements that are pulled off perfectly. They actually blend and mesh with the idea of the "coconut almond macaron" and don't feel tacked-on. Sure, this pretty much smells like a piña colada, essentially, but it's great!

On the tongue, there is a sharp and tangy fruity flavor upfront crossed with biscuit-like malt notes that fade away rather quickly into the light sweetness of coconut. Toward the end of each sip, there's a nice, Mosaic-focused grassy/resinous bitterness that carries with it a bit of a red berry note before finishing with more mango and pineapple. Tasty stuff! Kind of dangerous, too, as it does have an ethanol hit but drinks quite smooth and fruity as well. I feel the almond nuttiness gets somewhat lost here, but it's the least important element to me, and the coconut is well-balanced with a modest hoppy flavor, meaning this actually drinks like an IPA and not just a confection. In other words, though this is not a great-looking beer, it's supremely tasty and I hope to pick up more.

 

 

 

16 ounce can into a tulip snifter. Had 5/23/19.

Pours a bright, hazy yellow/gold, with a one and a half inch foamy head and a decent amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of orange, pineapple, coconut, almond, light papaya and grapefruit, pine, some vanilla, light malt, a hint of peppercorns. The flavor is similar- orange, grapefruit, coconut, almond, peppercorns, malt, pine, some pineapple, light papaya. Has a fairly herbal/floral taste, there’s a decent hop bitterness throughout. Smooth, refreshing, a good light body, well carbonated.

This is a solid hop forward DIPA that’s enhanced by the coconut and almonds, not held hostage by them. Very enjoyable. Well worth a purchase.

 

 

 

 

Golden hazy with a thinnish white head, nose is not at all predictive of the taste since all I’m getting is an earthy, grassy bitter. No hint of the oddball ingredients just yet. Taste is where things happen. First up is a soft almond that exits as the wicked alcohol wave crashes in, wrapped in the coconut. Once the coconut fades, a slightly citrusy bitter, dry finish wraps up this boozy experience. Very good and a surprisingly well built departure from every other NEIPA I’ve had lately.

 

 

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a snifter glass. Had a golden yellow color and a cloudy consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Pretty good, but not great, lacing.

S: A sweet and lively aroma of coconut, sugar, nuts, hops, citrus fruit, and tropical fruit.

T: Tasted of a moderate amount of hops (not a powerful component), a good amount of tropical fruit (passionfruit), lots of the advertised coconut, some almonds, a lot of sugar (typical of Decadent), and a bit of citrus (lemon). A light, sweet, and focused flavor. Not quite as punchy as some of Decadent's other stuff, but still quite tasty.

F: A fair amount of carbonation with a slightly syrupy finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A highly enjoyable and unusual beer. Drinkable.

Slightly hazy yellow body with a quickly fading yellow head, some lacing. So I get coconut, almond, lemon meringue, vanilla, a lot of peach, and hops, but not a macron. This is true for both smell and taste. Gets more bitter as it warms thankfully. Feel is sugary sweet, with decent hop textures in the finish, medium bodied. It's not bad, but not a macaron, so take that however you will

Most of these don't work as sweet decadent ales because of the hop base. I hope I can enjoy this as much as I liked the french toast.
A - Very hazy looking IPA with a very sweet looking full two inches of froth that pulls back to a good lace ring.
S - Well I get the sugars almost marshmallow like with (maybe) just a hint of coconut. A balance of sweeter hops like mango and papaya round out the body.
T - Well plenty of vanilla but not getting much coconut which may be a good thing since most coconut beer tend to have very tanning lotion taste or drying body. The almond part is mild too HOLY CRAP was Hendry right? Is this just a double toasted marshmallow in disguise?
M - Body is also pretty medium to heavy even though it's only around 8% it drinks like a full bodied beverage.

Overall not that I hated it but every time I buy one of these I am somewhat disappointed.

 

A; Bright gold with decent white foam head and sticky lacing.
N: Coconut, nuts, biscuit and some burnt sugar.
T: Followed the nose, very clean coconut with a soft nutty flavor, some burnt sugar tones and mild biscuit.
M: Very clean and smooth, light to medium feel.
O: Very nice beer, good flavors and nothing was too overpowering.

 

 

Despite enjoying this beer, I got zero coconut or almond in both the aroma and flavor. Not only did it remind me of Decadent's Double Toasted Marshmallow, I challenge the very brewers of this concoction to be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test! It has the identical craft vanilla soda flavor and aroma that has been kissed with Mosaic hops. Worth a shot, but if you've already had their Double Toasted Marshmallow before, you've pretty much tasted this already.