Lil Gushy
Decadent Ales

 

 

probably the best beer i have had from these guys, if not the most striking in flavor its certainly the one i would want to drink again, have a whole one of, that sort of thing, less of a gimmicky diabetic dessert beer this time, and i appreciate that from them. its still really prominently flavored, i dont think they make beer without flavors added, but its cohesive and modern and juicy as can be, the orange smells and tastes very natural to me, juiced and fleshy without pith or peel bitterness. also of note here is the apparent lack of lactose, this isnt anywhere near as sweet as others they do, and i appreciate this being more about orange and hops than trying to be a creamsicle, i think they did that already anyway. the hops are modern and mesh super well with the fruit, subtle pineapple and white sangria aspects to this too, tropical in a natural way, ever so slightly bitter too though at the end, definitely keeps it in the ipa realm despite how flavored it is. more tangerine than straight orange to me, its really bright. overall a little more body than it needs but its nicely carbonated and i think on the whole one of the best beers ive had from these guys, certainly one i would drink again, and hopefully a sign of a bit of a new direction for them, they have pretty much made all the desserts into beers already!

16oz can poured into a can-shaped nonic. Full-on orange juice hazy pour. Lots of citrus character, not all sweet though with some nice pithyness. Lots of peach, mango, and grapefruit as well; minor tangerine as well. Nicely juicy and fruity and smooth, with light-to-moderate pithy bitterness.

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a one pint can on April 14, 2021. India Pale Ale with orange puree added. The orange is present but not overwhelming.

'Tis the season for porch drinking, finally, and I am sitting out here as the sun's about to go down in about an hour, enjoying the last bit of natural vitamin D I'll get for the day, while sipping on something that could, ostensibly, provide me with another vitamin: C! This new IPA from Decadent features orange puree, and clocks in at 6.2% ABV, making it a good bit less intense compared to some of Decadent's stuff from a few years back when they were brewing in MA (this was brewed in CT at Twelve Percent, for the record).

The pour here is like a smoothie; very pale orange-ish color with a sizable head of slightly-off-white foam that settles down to a thin, quarter-finger ring with some awesome legs and lace after about ten minutes post-pour. It's opaque, of course, like most NEIPAs, but it really is kind of anemic in terms of hue. Almost looks like a glass of oat milk or something. I do love the lace, but I think this could be a bit brighter/more saturated looking to really drive home the "orange IPA" element.

The nose here is just orange juice. Yup, that's it. I mean, sure I can start picking out tangerine, grapefruit, a bit of mango, and some herbal notes if I really try but, why should I? These guys clearly wanted to make an orange flavored IPA, and they're gonna do it whether or not I think that's interesting to talk about or not. I mean, the orange here is undeniably very natural feeling, and I have the sense that such a nice treatment of it will also come across in the flavor, but there probably ain't gonna be much to talk about.

Yea, it's orange juice. It's definitely got a bit of a floral kick with some light auxiliary notes of tropical fruit (mango and papaya; very juicy and super-ripe, of course) and hints of herbs and grassiness. It's also at least somewhat bitter, with a decent lingering hoppy kick that I appreciate. Feel is smooth and well-rounded, bringing out some creamy flavors just by virtue of being so balanced, since I doubt there's any lactose/adjuncts in here other than the fruit puree itself. Low carbonation and slick feel with a pretty refreshing flavor profile and some oiliness here and there. I like this for what it is, which is good because, well... it's exactly what it says. I won't return to it, though.