Soft Criminal
Benchtop Brewing Company

Pours a nice hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has tropical and citrus hints
Taste has a tropical and citrus flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good IPA

 

 

From the label, stamped in ink above the social media tags: "01/06/20"
(I am fairly confident that the year date is a misprint)

The can I have differs from the site at (according to the label) "8.0% ABV"

Appearance: The body is mostly opaque, allowing only highly obscured shadows through the glass. The color of the body is a darker beige-amber that is a bit under-saturated and dull looking. The head is short, fluffy, and white. It has a nice crown of lacing but it recedes to a crater-like appearance.

Aroma: There are very light notes of garlic and onion. Each time the nose approaches the glass the garlic and onion aroma gets a bit stronger.

Taste: Up front there is hop bine oil flavor mixed with a bit of under-ripe pineapple. This very simple flavor profile continues to the center of the palate where it is amplified even more, and a mango character starts to join in. An interesting kiwi flavor crops up on the side of the tongue but it tapers off towards the end of the drink. The back of the mouth is fairly clean, with just a hint of grass and some under-ripe pineapple mixed together. The aftertaste is pineapple. The overall flavor profiles seem to make the beer. There is an interesting retronasal menthol character that came through after a while which isn't really a flavor or aroma but more of a combination of the two. Towards the end a light bit of peach starts to come through which is enjoyable.

Mouthfeel: It is a lighter beer and it finishes crisp and a semi-dry. It has a nice pronounced finish that tapers nicely off the tongue. There is a mellow bitterness as well as a menthol-like cooling sensation on the tongue. It is a rather unique feeling beer and it is quite refreshing. This is a slow-drinking beer that benefits from both access to time and temperature on the palate.

Overall: This is the kind of beer that will grow on you the more that you drink it and the more it builds layers on the palate; slowly developing over time. As such, I would strongly recommend against this as a sampler or even sharing a can. As the character builds while drinking this beer it creates its own ecosystem which is serves the beer better and is really quite enjoyable. The aroma starts savory and a bit uninteresting, but it doubles the effort on this retronasal cooling effect which seems to also soften the palate and help develop character. It becomes more fruitier, refreshing, and even satiating as develops. It's not a beer I'd likely recommend to the impatient but if you have some time this thing really kicks out a unique character. It's a sunset beer and I'd buy it again to try at sunset.

 

 

 

Great balance of hop and malt for NE style IPA. Brewery is doing some great work in a favorite style of mine. This one stands out as another level for them imo.

 

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a snifter glass. Had a golden yellow color and an exceptionally cloudy consistency. There was a half inch of foamy, somewhat long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: A solid aroma of hops, malt, citrus fruit, an earthy quality, and tropical fruit.

T: Tasted of a good shot of citrus fruit (tangerines, in particular), a bit of the earthy quality (not overwhelming), a decent amount of hops (just enough), light malt (mostly in the finish), and some tropical fruit (mango). A straightforward, focused, enjoyable flavor. It's not as juicy as some DIPAs are, but rather focuses on a good balance of ingredients. Tasty.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a sharp, slightly bitter finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly made, easy to drink beer. Worth a look.

 

 

Poured a cloudy, copper-gold body with good head and lace ring down the glass. The aroma is floral and earthy with some malt heft. A little thicker and heavier than most Benchtop beers, has an earthy, dirty hoppiness with a crisp, boozy finish.