Mother of All Daydreams
District 96 Beer Factory

 

 

 

Picked this up a couple of weeks ago as part of my first run up to District 96. I love Other Half and missed the first release of this so it was nice to grab this and see if it was worth the hype. Although it didn't blow me away, this was an easily enjoyable beer that was full of flavor, full-bodied, and full of things to enjoy from start to finish!

No surprise that this had a lively, golden hue to it with a ton of thick, full head topping it off as it took it's time to unevenly settle down. Lots of lacing left behind as there was a extremely thin ring right at the top of my pint glass with a massive amount of rocky suds that were left at the center as a few bits of rings could be seen in it. Lots of melon, wheat, lychee, and sweet malt stood out in the muted nose as they were much more pronounced in the taste. Some exotic tropical fruit, deep forest, and chewy oats emerged as this warmed up with the snake fruit coming through in the back and the aftertaste. Nice slickness on the palate and tons of oats on my lips that lingered long after this went down as the carbonation was present but certainly not overpowering.

The booze was here but really hard to discern given everything else that was going on as the heavier fruits and body were more than enough to outdo that. No date was printed on the bottom of the can as that would be the only thing that I'd change about this beer. It was easy to pick out the attributes of both brewers that had a hand in making this but I expected the end result to be just a tad better. As it was, there was plenty to enjoy here as this made it worth the trip up to New City!

 

No canning date (released on 9/4/20, so presumably canned within a few days of that date); consumed on 10/1/20

Pours a completely turbid, brownish gold body topped with three fingers of dense, fluffy, white foam; great head retention yields a rocky half-finger of cap, a thick, creamy collar, and heavy layering of chunky, webby lacing ringing around the glass.

Aroma opens with vibrant, fresh-cut pineapple, steadily phasing in hints of lime and kiwi along with stiff hits of grass interspersed between; creamy guava sorbet peaks over the middle, accented with the denser, earthy qualities of banana peel as a sharp lychee note lurks just below the heavy tropical foundation into the close.

Taste features a mango saturation across the palate, further developed with tones of peach skins, apricot zest, and light hints of mushy banana; guava, gooseberry, grass, and lime are steady over the mid-palate while a burst of creamy, zesty mango alongside an overripe tropical medley fades with the finish.

Mouthfeel brings a medium-full body along with a fluffy, moderate carbonation contributing to an overall silky texture persistent across the palate; a slight prickle glazes over the mid-palate, though develops a resounding creamy quality into the back end, where a firm hit of mild, rounded, and gritty bitterness unexpectedly hits the finish; a lingering hop acidity holds from the mid-palate onward, but is ultimately unobtrusive and doesn't interfere much on the palate.

An intense hop experience, pushing the boundaries of tropical saturation and detail while presenting so easily relaxed and unencumbered by the raw veracity of tropical and earthy notes flowing throughout this one; a stellar NEIPA, one that maintains a harmony between heavy concentrations of flavor and drinkability so deftly.

 

Pours a super hazy, almost milky pale yellowish orange with a finger of white head. Aroma has melons, tropical fruit, and some sweetness. Taste is more of the same notes from the aroma but adds some of that unique D96 Snakefruit finish. Despite having Daydream in the name I don’t find this to be exceedingly sweet but there is a solid sweetness here. Medium body and carbonation. Definitely a tasty beer with decent drinkability (I had several at the Snake Den last weekend) but there is something here that just doesn’t totally click for me; it’s definitely very good but not great.