Cake Plastic Trees
Outer Range Brewing Co

 

 

 

 

a collaboration with mikerphone, this is a weird one, but its better than a novelty for sure. brewed with a bunch of sexy hops, cloudy like all the outer range hoppy stuff, but the kicker here is that its brewed with cake mix. funfetti or something from what i hear, but the details remains a little vague. this seems like an interesting addition to an already starchy and sort of cakey grain base anyway, but outer range is doing a nice job building cool cereal bases for their dry hopped gems, and the cake mix plays about as well as it possibly could here. the surprising thing to me is its relative lack of sweetness, i was thinking dessert all the way, but it actually stays super hoppy and citrusy and beery, not really veering too far down that milkshake beer road as far as i am concerned. i can taste it in here, but i am also trying to taste it, and i think it works. there is a sort of artificial breadiness in here, a vanilla note, and even a sponge sort of texture, but it set these hops up really well, citra and lemondrop and some others i think, lots of fresh glorious citra for sure, lemony and zesty and bright, with a white wine note in here, ripe peach fruitiness, and just a bit of bitterness to help it finish. its all dry hops, and its awesome. i like the smoothness and roundness of the feel, and i like that the carbonation is punchy enough to be uplifting through it. awesome hop complexion, and overall a beer thats far better than it sounds (at least to me) on paper. i hope these guys dont become a brewer of the absurd, their current trajectory is spot on and it would be a shame to get going with this cake mix funfetti junk, but this one is pretty solid, i have to admit!

 

From a 16 oz can to a tulip.

A-The beer is ugly in the same way that all hazy IPAs are ugly, but it is not quite as hideous as some. A fat finger of white foam hangs around for a bit on top of the beer before fading to a collar and leaving a line of think, chunky lace on the glass. The yellowish beer beneath has a rusty brown tint to it.

S-The aroma is hugely fruity and juicy, but there is also a lot of sweetness which means this NE-style IPA is not nearly as astringent as some. I sniff some candied orange, mango, peach, a lot of pineapple, and lightly floral notes. Bitterness is an afterthought here. This stuff smells almost dessert-like; its probably too sweet for some.

T-The taste is sweet and juicy with loads of tropical pineapple, mango, peach flavors, and some floral notes. There is a doughy component here and I feel like I can taste the cake batter too (although my third can from the four-pack seems to have less cake batter flavor than the first two I tried two days earlier). No bitterness whatsoever and very little chalky astringency, just sweet tropical fruit.

M-The body is heavier than average and carbonation is very soft, almost chewy on the palate. The viscosity is a little watery and there is a drying feeling on the finish.

O-Wow. This beer is another winner from Outer Range and maybe my favorite from them yet. I was reluctant at first but I can honestly say that I am fully onboard with the NE-style IPA if they all taste like this.