Hornet's Nest
Saco River Brewing

 

 

Another good candidate for an Imperial IPA- New England style!!! From a 16 oz. can to a pint glass: Pours a murky dark straw yellow color with a small foamy white head. Head retention is good and there are bands of lacing on the glass. Good aroma and taste. Grapefruit, pineapple, and other tropical fruits. Mildly bitter in the finish, slightly sweet up front. Mouthfeel is rich (some lactose?) and somewhat crisp with mild bitterness. Goes down easy, no hint of a higher alcohol content. Well done!!! I would drink this one again!!!!

 

 

Hazy DIPA, - I like both clear and hazy, each has its own unique character - At 8% that is reasonable, I don't even buy anything below 8% - Reasonable bite and hoppy enough - A satisfying brew

 

 

 

Apparently this brewery has been around for two or more years, but I have never heard of them. This is a can of Hornets' Nest packaged just about a month ago (7/21/20), and HN is a NE-styled double IPA featuring Mosaic, Citra, and Ella hops. That sounds like a rather delightful, if somewhat risky, combination of hops. With this review I will be getting to the bottom of whether or not that risk was worth taking, as well as if this brewery is worth looking into further. Shall we?

The pour here is a big ol' glass of orange juice, for sure. Opaque, a bit muddy-looking, but somewhat charming in a sense as well. Fluffy head that leaves behind really solid tiered lace all around my glass. Decent soapy legs and a solid retention leads me to believe that this is, at the very least, a well-built recipe. I have my doubts about the inclusion of Ella here, but we'll see how it works.

First sniffs are somewhat sulfuric in nature, but there is some black pepper in there with a helping of papaya, kumquat, cantaloupe, and green onion. This is, as expected, somewhat "all over the place," but if that's the worst it has to offer then I can probably assume this is gonna be solid. Joking aside, the dank and pungent aroma really steers this away from being any type of "juice bomb," which is somewhat odd considering its appearance, but I guess it's also not really necessarily a bad thing.

First sip is surprisingly malty, but the malt itself is a little anonymous to me. It just drinks kinda syrupy but with a good, lean mid-palate full of sticky hop flavors. Tangerine rind, heavy grassiness and marijuana-like resinous elements, black pepper yet again (Ella, for sure), and a finishing note of papaya mixed with pine needle astringency. Creamy and smooth with supple carbonation. Kinda brighter than you'd expect given the heaviness, but the finish is also moderately-dry and well-balanced. Not a lot of ethanol heat, but I think this could stand to be a bit more heavily dry-hopped; the Citra, especially, feels lost here.

HN is not a bad hazy DIPA by any means. Structurally speaking, it is really well-done and feels like a winner, but some of the scents and tastes are not superbly rendered. Perhaps that's just my taste speaking, but Citra and Mosaic should definitely take me somewhere, and this feels a bit under-developed. Ella is a cool hop, of course, as well, but it feels like a distraction here. I'd like to try other stuff from these guys, as they seem like good brewers, but this isn't a beer I'd return to for what it's worth.

 

Had this on tap straight from the brewery.

Pours a hazy, bright orange. Noticeably cloudier towards the bottom of the glass.

Very strong floral aromas—almost like pot. Also a citrusy/orange presence.

Taste runs the full gamut from citrus and nectar, to bready sweetness, to a dry and bitter finish. Creamy and smooth feel, medium-bodied.

A really nice, balanced IPA that stands out in a world of juice bombs (some of which are excellent!).

 

From a 16oz can, dated 06/23/20. Served in a cervoise.

Pours orange juice-like in appearance with a sturdy two-finger head of lush ivory-coloured foam. Retention is very good, leaving a fat, sudsy cap and thick lacing. Looks good.

Sharp, citrusy aroma, orange, frosting.

Tasting orange juice, damp grain, pink grapefruit and melon, and some kind of Asian spice, which one exactly escapes me. Juicy, but with a sturdy, sweetish malt body and fairly low bitterness.

Feel is juicy, medium-plus bodied and brightly carbonated.

Overall, good stuff. In the wide universe of NEIPA’s, it’s at least middling, which isn’t a knock on Saco River, there are just so damn many of them, right?

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned 4/28/20. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a solid finger sticky white head that leaves gobs of sticky lace all over the glass, with excellent retention. 4.75

Smell is guava, tangerine, ripe melon, pineapple, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows pineapple, guava, tangerine, cantaloupe, and apricot. 4.5

Mouthfeel in bigger than average, soft gentle carbonation, sticky not dry, and at 8% easy drinking. 4.75

Overall I have not anything from these guys, but this is a great NEDIPA. 4.5