Line Cutter
Offshoot Beer Co.

 

 

Pours a peachy orange color, thickly hazy. Head production is meager, even with a turbulent pour; retention is so-so.

Aroma is strongly fruity, mostly light, sweet tropical notes. There's a touch of the herbal quality I've noticed in every other OffShoot IPA so far (oregano, parsley), but not as strong. Pineapple, mandarin orange, and stone fruit abound.

Flavor follows: tons of tropical fruit; light-to-moderate dankness permeates; crisp vegetal herbal quality; light citrus. The alcohol definitely imparts flavor at this level, albeit not unpleasantly so; the yeast and malt combine to form a smooth, rich pale background, although the hops are the first (and strongest) facet of this brew you notice.

Creamy feel with plenty of bite, more so than with most triple IPAs. It can't completely avoid being syrupy. It definitely reminds me of later iterations of Sixpoint's Hi-Res in that respect, although the hop profile is different.

Ratings-wise, I'm torn with this beer. It's really quite enjoyable, and very tasty. Some elements are very well executed. It doesn't immediately scream out as world class, either. I would without hesitation order this at a bar; I would pick up a four (six?) pack with little reservation; in neither case would it be my first choice.

 

16 oz can into a nonic pint glass

The brew yields a completely opaque, cloudy, orange-tan appearance, as a moderate pour yields a one-inch fluffy head that leaves a few patches of lacing.

Pungent aromas, rindy and dank and earthy. As with the few Offshoot brews I've now sampled, they have this sharp melon rind-thing going on. Also a good deal of citrus pith.

Boozy, hop-forward flavors. Unripe orange along with notes of mint and pineapple. Kind of a sipper, brew gets really sweet toward the back of the sip, and hot with booze. Finishes long and sticky-sweet, with bitter residuals sticking to the edge of the palate.

Offshoot beers are at least interesting so far...they have this signature melon rind/citrus pith-thing going on. I drank one of these the first night of the can release and thought it was awful - way too boozy and cloyingly sweet, like a bad beer cocktail. But now that things have mellowed a bit, it's a little more palatable, although their lower ABV offerings have been more quaffable.

For what it's worth, I hear this was a smoother and less boozy on tap - something happened in the canning process.

 

Flavor and aroma are solid but overall not earth shattering, but this offering is remarkably drinkable for such high IBU's and a double digit ABV. Well done

 

 

 

this rating is for the abv. 10.5% and this smooth, this easy.... this good!! love the green colors of the can. love the troppy fruity flavors... just a slight meth-y flavor and aroma (and burp flavor!) but that's from well over 25 years ago....