Sound-Dust
Homage Brewing

Straight pour from a 32oz crowler filled three days ago at the brewery, to a tall, narrow pint (Green Cheek nucleated flute). Pretty fresh!

Appearance (4.5): This pours a good four fingers of ecru foam, capping a hazy golden-tan body with orange highlights. The head dies down very slowly, leaving a chunky collar all around the top rim of the glass tied to big, rocky archipelagos of three-dimensional lace chunks. The head also leaves a massive, rounded nipple of foam at the center of the cap, surrounded by little hills that reach up toward those side-glass islands of whipped foam.

Smell (4.75): Ugh, this nose … wet, fresh cut grass, tart green grape skins, key lime juice and graham crackers, papaya flesh, a faded memory of passion fruit, simple syrup, and just a lightest note of pine needles. It doesn’t smell boozy or malty at all, just wonderfully grassy, earthy, and tastefully tropical—like sauv blanc with graham crackers and a wad of grass.

Taste (4.5): On the palate, this beer leans into the grassy and earthy notes, but also injects a touch of agave syrup, ratchets up the lime zest, and evokes a lot of gooseberry. Wait, yup, gooseberry like whoa. The malt is definitely there and present, but never comes off as “big” or “malty” in that chewy, old school East Coast way—but the yeast definitely brings out a light butterscotch note. Still, it plays off of the grassy and lime zest notes, mirroring juicier, fruitier aspects of the hops, playing a nice little magic trick in that way. The whole way though, it retains this … wet feeling, if that makes sense, like a very lightly sweet, juicy flavor that magnifies but also makes more palatable the grassiness of it all. No booze at all.

Mouthfeel (4.5): Smooth, medium-full in feel and fully medium-weight, the body comes in with an exceedingly creamy feel, like a milkshake with tart lime flavor and velvety carbonation. Those bubbles distribute themselves evenly across the palate, foam up gently and tingle tastefully as it begins to wash out. It leaves a light feel, a very thin but slick residue, and a creeping, drying feel. Very drinkable for 8% ABV, but it fits its size perfectly.

Overall (4.5): I like Double IPAs, I love Galaxy hops, and I adore Homage. Is it any surprise this beer fucking rocks? One thing I like about it is that it’s not scraping the ceiling of American (D)IPA bombast, New England murk, or nouveau hop weirdness. It is striking tasteful notes in each aspect of the beer, though, and ramping it up to 8 or 9—but never 10+. This is one of those beers that feels like it’s dialing in the NE IPA substyle to strike a well-considered balance. Very highly recommended, as is the case with all of Homage’s beers.