ZZ Topaz
Matchless Brewing

rad art and branding on this, clever name and clever recipe, a cool mix of hops for a hazy, uncommon, and the beer itself is pretty distinctive on the hop side, although it sure doesnt seem like we are catching this one at peak freshness, some fade and oxidation happening, and a weird almost greying color that could be a product of its age too, but the hop profile remains pretty darn interesting and appealing, man these guys produce a lot of different beers! my father in law picked this up to share during our pumpkin carving session last night, total legend. really pale beer, lots of starch but no visible sediment, murky and almost grey, just weird looking, but high headed and bubbly and all too, odd but not unappealing i guess. the aroma is unique, past the obvious fade is kiwi fruit, peach, juicy citrus, and almost a key lime thing, really pretty dynamic, some bitterness too as the hazy ones go, pineapple, topaz and zappa hops along with zeus in here, and they certainly present as different, some herbal character, a fatty almost buttery thing but not diacetyl, not a flaw, a hop property, lemongrass and melon as it warms, a hint of vanilla, lightly sweet. the flavor has the newspaper oxidation but then bright citrus to me, cut oranges, and a quenching almost an orange gatorade generic citrus thing, green pear, white peach, vanilla bean, dehydrated mango slices, and some herbal pop, verbena and perhaps even a culinary herb aspect right before the bitterness on the swallow, which really resolves some of the malty sweetness this has most of the way, maybe a dextrose or something sweetness too, powdered sugar. soft pillowy texture with the non barley grains, tiny bubbles and lots of them really making it pop, creamy and effervescent at the same time, really nice. i wish this was fresher because i bet it would totally rule. but even less than ideal its still really good, way cool combination of hops, fun beer, a hazy with a lot of personality, warms up well too. hope to try this one again at its best, brutally underrated here on BA...

Excellent mild bitterness from the zeus with heavy melon flavor. Aroma of melon and mild citrus. Pours yellow/orange and hazy. Good beer, reminds me of New England. Will have again.

16oz can (dated 11/2/20) poured into 14oz teku. poured an ugly brownish-orange color with over an inch of slightly off-white head that had good retention and very light lacing.

The aroma was the expected frooty hops and low malt of the style.

The favor started out similar, but in the middle and back of the tongue, harsh bitter, metallic, and almost sour aspects jumped out and dominated.

The body was the typical light of the style, had good carbonation, and a medium finish.

Drinkability was a chore. Would have been a drain pour for most folks, but I'm stubborn.

Overall, terrible brew. Avoid.