Hazier Triple IPA (Version 2)
Untitled Art

"Hazier Triple IPA Version 2 India Pale Ale." Not to be confused with Version 1, which apparently was 9.5% ABV.

9.8% ABV. "India Pale Ale." "Triple IPA." No hop varietals or ingredients are indicated on the label, but some online retailer sources suggest version 2 was "Brewed with Mosaic, Sabro, Citra, Azacca, Amarillo, El Dorado, BRU-1 and Idaho 7 Hops."

CAN: 16 fl oz pull-tab with an artsy blue-green & white label design. Cost was $4.49 USD for a single at a beer store in New Orleans, LA.

Served cold into a dimpled mug.

APPEARANCE: Turbid muted orange body. I see no yeast/lees within through its haze. Not terribly vibrant or inviting...filtration would help.

Head is a scant ~2cm in starting height, receding to nothing over about 90 seconds...that's subpar head retention but hey - this is a 9.8% ABV IIPA. The head isn't terribly thick, creamy/frothy, soft looking, or inviting. Does leave a nice thick ring of lacing as it recedes, which is a big plus.

Looks well carbonated.

This beer looks okay. I can't say its lack of filtration is helping its appearance, and I've seen countless imperial IPAs that looked a hell of a lot more vibrant and inviting.

AROMA: Orange pulp/orange juice concentrate. A scintilla of slimy lychee. Pale malt/2-row.

There's no detectable alcohol warmth or booze, but it doesn't shout its hop varietals from the rooftops like I'd expect a great imperial IPA/so-called "Triple IPA" to. Shockingly reticent and muted for a 9.8% ABV IIPA, suggesting an insipid expression of the style with a muted hop profile and little depth of flavour. Not a great aroma for the intended style by any stretch...

TASTE: Orange pulp. Orange creamsicle. Tangerine. Orange juice concentrate. Pale malt/2-row. Muted mango. Subtle alcohol warmth...this doesn't show its hand in terms of revealing overtly the 9.8% ABV, but it doesn't disguise it well.

Not floral, resinous (if Amarillo was actually used, it isn't showcased well at all), piney, grapefruity, oily, herbaceous/herbal, "green," oniony/garlicky, nectary, or otherwise hop-redolent.

Frankly, it's appallingly simple and shallow for a beer billed as a "Triple IPA"...that designation is marketing gimmickry I largely despise, but it does promise a hoppier and/or more intense imperial IPA than those marketed as Double IPAs to those suckers gullible enough to buy into such disingenuous schlock. And this is decidedly less hop-emphatic with less hop flavour than something like Lagunitas' Lagunitas Sucks (just to use a widely distributed cheap expression of the IIPA style for example's sake).

I don't get clear or vivid flavours, there's no depth of hop flavour, what I do get is a muted mess of cheap orange juice redolent hop flavour...it just tastes shockingly insipid for a beer trying to be big and bold. But hey, it's turbid, so I guess many will love it?

TEXTURE: Thick and pulpy on the palate. Unrefreshing as a result. Smooth, wet, between medium and full-bodied. Well carbonated.

Not oily, astringent, gushed, rough, scratchy, harsh, or hot (though as noted above it does have a noticeable alcohol warmth).

OVERALL: Untitled Art is starting to seem more like a marketing-first, beer-second business model that happens to incorporate "real" artists for their label designs. Call me crazy, but when I buy a beer I want quality first, marketing & design second. This is more drinkable for its ABV than it ought to be, and that's about the best thing I can say about it. Discerning drinkers after something to rival a beer like Russian River's Pliny The Elder or even Lagunitas' Lagunitas Sucks will be let down both in terms of this beer's relative quality and its relative price...I can't recommend this to any beer enthusiast since it's just so insipid, but it isn't bad by any stretch - just pricey and mediocre.

C- (2.71) / BELOW AVERAGE

 

 

 

Pours a very cloudy opaque golden color with a small foamy head. Head retention is minimal. Lacing is decent. Has a nice juicy, citrus aroma. Tangerine, maybe some mango. Juicy taste citrus that quickly gets overwhelmed by more boozy alcohol. Almost gin like. Medium bodied with mild carbonation.