Bravo
Offshoot Beer Co.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours with a look like orange juice. Sultry orange yellow, hazy and lets just enough light in to show you that haze. Creamy white head of foam that fell well leaving some lace to look at. The nose is a bouquet from the nelson hop. White grape skin. They are one of those hops that has a great and powerful presence on the palate even though thier flavor is somewhat delicate in the beers I have had that feature it. I think that it is their citrusy backing that allows them to resemble white wine. They also have a generous spice and soft grasses. I would even use the word intriguing. Just enough scent from malt on the nose to suggest sweet cracker. No real esters form alcohol even though the beer is over 8 percent. No diacetyl and no DMS. The suggestion of tropical fruit in this beer could be a gentle ester from the yeast or it could just be your imagination. That is one of the things I love about certain hops. The more familiar, bitter citrusy ones don't really leave much to the imagination but these sure do. The drink is remarkably pleasant.

The beer uses oats in the grain bill and oats are said to lighten the body of the beer. They can be tricky to work with and can stick your sparge or leave behind some astringency in the finish. As this beer warms you will notice that the oats have a scent that is rustic and has a breaddiness of it's own but so soft and gentle that breaddy is not the word that would come to mind first. They lighten the mouthfeel of this beer and make it softly creamy. That creaminess allows the flavors to travel the palate more slowly and demonstrated perfectly why that malt is often used in the NEIPA style. The palate is lively and vivacious with every facet of those hops but creamy smooth. I was amazed at the potent generous flavor of these hops and then had to laugh because of how gentle they seem too. Their flavor is not as strong as lets say grapefruit and they dominate without tasting pungent or catty or dank. They do have a dank aspect though and in this beer you can taste it in the herbal spice. There is the potential for them to taste oniony. The silken taste of the white grape backed by a lemony citrus gives a flavor much like white wine.

Because this beer finished a little sweeter you could say that they tasted fruitier but not jammy. The billowy soft grasses remain in the background. The finish is most impressive as this beer drinks like a much lighter beer. There is no mouthfeel from alcohol at all. Not even a hint of warmth and if you were to guess the alcohol you might say 5.5 - 6%. Impressive! It is also one of the features that made this beer the perfect compliment to my dish. Cod with saffron cream sauce and soba noodle. There is just a small bitterness that accumulates lightly as you drink so to cleanse the palate and leave the finish malty but buoyant with the flavor of those hops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great hazy double IPA featuring 100% Nelson hops