Neon Vacay
Barebottle Brewing Company

Very sweet.

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 10/24/2019. Pours very hazy deep golden/orange/amber color with a 22 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big lightly tart/tangy pineapple, strawberry, coconut, fruit skin/seed, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, strawberry, pineapple, coconut, and bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big lightly tart/tangy pineapple, strawberry, coconut, fruit skin/seed, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness; and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy pineapple, strawberry, coconut, fruit skin/seed, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, strawberry, pineapple, coconut, and bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitter/tartness balance; with no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and tart/tangy fruit. Medium-plus carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky/resinous/rindy/acidit/tangy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6.5%. Overall this is an awesome fruited NEIPA. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, strawberry, pineapple, coconut, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly bitter/resin/acid/tangy drying finish; nicely soft and not overly aggressive. Awesome Chinook, Citra, Simcoe profile. Very juicy/vibrant hops/fruit with some dank/earthy notes; with a nice sized wheat/oat/malt backbone for the ABV. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin/tangy drying. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example.

Disappointing. My only other sampling from this brewery was great so I had fairly high expectations for this beer. But I don’t know if it was off or just not well balanced. Canned date was 10/24/19 so it was fairly fresh. Looks good, slightly hazy yellow-orange color with abundant fluffy white head that reduced to some sticky lingering lacing. Smells very odd - reminded me of fresh plastic. Strange and industrial and artificial. No fruity notes, no hops, nothing besides that strange plastic smell. Fortunately it tasted better. Could definitely differentiate the strawberry, pineapple and coconut. Not overly sweet or tropical or artificial. Decent. Also a little malt, vanilla and bread. Could have been better balanced and fruity. Mild, thin mouthfeel, surprisingly not that creamy or smooth. Decent carbonation. Overall a little disappointing.

Sweet strawberry banana smoothie nose on this one! Aromatics are great...couldn't find any hoppiness though. Taste follows, but with muted flavors compared to thenose...feels good on the palate, but lacks punch on the taste buds.

 

Another tasty treat! The beer version of strawberry pina colada? I'm having trouble classifying such brews anymore. Is it a west coast IPA, a NEIPA or a fruit beer? The lines are blurred...