Blue Yonder
Outer Range Brewing Co

 

more of a west coast style for these guys, without all the heavy haze and over the top dry hopping. its well done, and i am glad to see them take a stride in this direction of more refined beer, but its also not really them, and although tasty, seems a little more generic to me, fresh and good as it is, more likely to have come from just about anyone than from outer range, not really their identity, but the beer is very good. its done with columbus, amarillo, and citra, the packing is gorgeous, and the can is super fresh. its still not all the way clear, of course, but its a glowing golden shade less starchy and dense looking than so many of their other beer. the aroma is still really dry hop forward, but there is also immediately an appreciable oily hop aspect as well as plenty of bitterness, which i am not used to in their hoppy beer. there is some honey sweetness from the grain that picks up the oils of the hops, more west coast here, kind of a dank and sticky thing, with citra doing some of the heavy lifting in terms of flavor, its really pronounced to me, and always tastes so good in beer this fresh. seems like much of the bitterness comes from the columbus, with a bit of a grapefruit pith element there, and that the amarillo gives soft melon and juicy tropical fruit character to the beer in between. its a nice mix of hops, maybe a touch generic as they go, but i like the lesser malt bill on this and the more intense hops on the finish. drinkable at this strength too. freshness is everything with this, and it was awesome to hit it at its peak. these guys are still doing some of the best hoppy beers in colorado!