Flame Carrier
Springdale Beer Co.

Picked up a 4pack of pints at my local craft bottle shop at a deep discount. I asked why and all I got was a vague stock rotation comment. So anyway . . . I let it chill in the fridge overnight and decided to sample it the next day. WOA what a mess! As soon as I popped the lever this can erupted all over. I quickly caught most of the carnage in my glass and waited a bit for the fuss to calm down. Slowly I poured what I could from the can into the glass avoiding overpour. To totally drain the can into the glass took over 20 minutes, NOT a very good sign. I sipped off some of the copious thick amber suds and savored the unique flavor and density of the foam while also breathing in the quirky aroma. Once things settled down, I took a look at the DARK honey toned liquid and jeesh, to say it is hazy is a massive understatement. More like liquid honey! I decided what the heck and knocked back a heady mouthful and let it dance about in my mouth. Oh my, what an unusual combination of flavors. Fruitiness, citrus and then the rye pepperiness came in. The finish was a little boozy and not too dry. Overall, I don't regret making this one a buy BUT . . .likely NOT on the look for again list, ever.

Picked this up a few weeks back at the Bottle King in Livingston, as I never heard of Springdale before. Quite the label and quite the beer as the Rye Malt should have been a complete game-changer. To some extent, it was, but the end result of this beer was something that seemed to be all over the place as it was a bit though to pin down.

Not the best pour to this as it was murky, muted, and milky all at the same time as the apricot hue let in some light around the edges as a saving grace. Enough columns of fine bubbles came up through this as the head was quite sufficient although the lacing left behind was practically nowhere to be seen. Loads of rye, spicy bread, fleshy melon, Hawaiian Punch, and fruit cocktail were in the nose as some stone fruit, chalky and dry lime, and tangy orange juice emerged in the taste once this fully warmed up. Some grassiness could be felt underneath everything but this just never quite found it's groove as I was waiting for it to come into it's own...before I nonchalantly finished it off.

Some booze was in here, some carbonation was in the taste, and some stickiness was left on my lips when I finished this off but the lasting impression I got was from the Idaho 7 and Simcoe as the dank fruit cocktail and oddly floral undertone outlasted everything else here. Canned on 11/12, there wasn't any sediment and this was as fresh as could be, given it's age, but this was capable of being so much more. Buy it for the label and the Rye presence, but don't expect this be on par with the other heavyweights from the Bay State.

Canned 11/12/20

Now, this has my full attention. I've heard of (but haven't had any) rye IPAs, which would seem to fit the style. However, throwing rye into a NEIPA base? That seems odd, but it might just work. Springdale does great things, so I'm sure this is going to be well executed

Pours a hazy ruddy orange with 3 fingers of rocky white head that quickly fades to a cap and leaves no lacing at all

The aroma is interesting. It seems like the juxtaposition of rye against typical NEIPA aromas seems to just push this back into the category of a standard IPA. I'm picking up on aromas of spicy hops, pithy grapefruit, savory rye, papaya, dank pine, doughy malt, and a hint of pineapple

The taste here is a bit nondescript, like the rye and hops cancel each other out or something, quite a letdown given the nice aroma. Up front I taste fresh pine, lime, mint, and a touch of rye. The swallow is a bit more interesting, bringing notes of grapefruit, spicy rye, floral hops, and crisp malt

Despite the less than stellar taste, this drinks very easy. If I didn't know any better I'd say this was below 5%. A light body pairs with gentle carbonation for a very smooth beer. Finishes mostly dry and crisp

This one was just alright. I had higher hopes for this given the innovative idea and the brewery, but it just didn't blow me away. Don't get me wrong, I love rye in beers, but this was just not a great example

 

Canned: 11/12/20 opened and reviewed on 12/18/20

A rather odd, rusty darkness within the orange tinted liquid. The white foam forms to a medium level and then fades fast.

The nose has some very nice tropical fruit blend kick with some darker grains mixed in. The Rye malt is definitely the Xfactor here.

A rather thin bodied hazy IPA, plenty crisp with the Rye malt making the first big impression with a dark grainy and spicy flavor. The Idaho 7 and Simcoe hops give off sour tropical fruits and green, grassy earthiness that is blended very well. Cohesive flavor's with the hops and Rye being very unique in this style.

Overall, I'm giving bonus points for adding Rye to the Hazy style, but much of this beer has me feeling ho-hum at best. Definitely drinkable but not very exciting.

 

This here is Springdale's newest hazy IPA, and it's probably the most personally-intriguing one yet. A hazy IPA brewed with rye malt, hopped with Idaho 7 and Simcoe? That's like my taste in IPAs right there! The spice of rye, the complex pine and citrus dankness of Simcoe, and whatever the hell Idaho 7 is going to do (i.e. something a bit experimental). Bring it on!

The pour is, um, not good. For some reason, the past few Springdale hazebois I've had have just been ugly as all sin, and this is absolutely no exception. This should never have passed QC, and its existence is a testament that appearance truly doesn't seem to matter to most beer drinkers anymore, as the marketing team at Springdale apparently looked at this and several of their other recent NEIPAs and went "yeah, ship it, who gives a shit." It just seems so damn cynical. It's a ruddy deep-amber/orange with 100% unabashed opacity and only a thin, weak ring of suds retaining with absolutely no aplomb. No legs, no lace. Nothing. Guys, please make your beer less ugly.

The nose is a big improvement (luckily, I didn't want to have to pan this one like I did "Dang!" earlier this year). I get a huge hit of crushed pine needles, pine sap, intense pomelo, and grandiose dankness all vying for attention here. Some subtle peppery spice and earthiness along with a hint of green onion coming out as it warms. Some lighter backing elements of mango, syrupy pineapple, and juicy apricot here and there. This one is striking all the right chords for me with the scent, that's for sure. I love me a big ol' dank rye IPA. Brings me back to the good ol' days. *shakes fist in a curmudgeonly manner*

Superb flavor, too! Strong, spicy bite of rye upfront with a mid-palate of tropical fruit mingling well with pine and a bit of zippy citrus rind. Finishes a little more bitter than expected (with just a slight aspect of "hop burn," but it's not bad enough to ding the score at all), but the dankness really encompasses the palate and makes me want to take another sip. Simcoe really shows up here, even eclipsing the chameleonic Idaho 7 and totally overshadowing some of its more subtle notes. For instance, I really don't get much in the way of its tannic elements or much stone fruit/melon at all on the tongue. It really is just a huge, cozy Simcoe blanket with the piquancy of earthy, spicy rye carrying the grain bill in a really fun, flavorful way. Medium feel with less chalkiness than expected given that appearance. Slight, non-expressive carbonation seems a bit dull, but it's not a bother overall when the flavors are this damn enjoyable. I knew I'd like this one, and was happy to be proven right. I'll probably grab more while I can... and I'll drink it from the can so I don't have to look at its ugliness head on again.