Alpha Abstraction, Vol. 3
Wild Leap Brew Co

 

 

 

Received as an extra in a trade.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a nice super hazy golden orange hue with a thick two finger white head that fades nice and slowly to leave a super dense blanket.

S - Aromas of floral meadows, citrus peel, orange juice, maybe some over ripe mango or pineapple. What tropical fruit is there is on the sweeter side.

T - Taste is similar to the nose with really big candied tropical fruit notes, dried mango and dried papaya as well. Little on the sweeter fruits side, decent amount of orange peel/juice as well.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, alcohol hidden well, body is a bit on the thinner side.

O - Overall this was quite the solid DIPA. Nice candied/sweeter tropical notes here. Enjoyable.

Serving Type: can

12 oz can from ATL in a pint glass.
Very hazy golden body with a white head that has excellent retention.
Pungent aroma dominated by citrus notes, particularly orange..
Flavor: largely follows the aroma. Juicy, with loads of citrus-type hop notes with mild bitterness.
Feel: medium-full body with well hidden ABV.

Appearance: Pours a clouded-to-turbid, orange-yellow body with a medium-small, near white head.

Smell: Stewed, softened mango chunks with touches of citrus, berries and black pepper atop pillowy wheat and bound with thin bits of alcohol.

Taste: Firmly tangy, fruity with a backdrop of wheat and rustic grains. Present, lasting albeit restrained sweetness. Pepper-dusted mango, citrus fruits, rosehips and berries. Bitterness is rather low here. Closes rather tangy with a noted acidity and a little bit of distant chalkiness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium-light carbonation.

Overall: Vol. 2 was a much-needed step forward. Vol. 3 feels like a slight step back.

I tried this at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, GA. It poured a cloudy yellow with white head that left some lace. The scent had tropical fruit notes. The taste was sweeter leaning but easy to drink with citrus presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a good beer.

 

 

Appearance - The beer poured a copper orange collar with a white head.

Smell - This IPA captured pineapple almost perfectly.

Taste - to match the nose, I get a lot of pineapple in the taste. Toward the back there had some spices and grass notes. The beer was not bitter, and just overall well-balanced.

Mouthfeel - The viscosity let’s the pineapple linger, though I wish it lasted longer.

Overall - I had never heard of this brewery before today, but count me as impressed.

 

L - 1.5 finger sparse offwhite head atop an opaque dirty yellow body.

S - herb, grapefruit, pineapple.

T - follows the nose. Pineapple, blueberry, grapefruit, dank. Moderate-low bitterness. No sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium-full body with above-average carb.

O - totally different than Vol. 2, but equally as good.

12 ounce can, no date seen. Assumed fresh as this is the latest volume. Slightly aggressive pour leads to an fluffy, frothy, orange tinged white head, generous lacing. Not exactly hazy but it’s definitely opaque Big nose of pineapple notes, citrus, citrus peels.
Taste is much of the same. Overripe pineapple, orange and lemon peel, grass notes, bitter hop bite. Citrus pith. No alcohol at all.
Fairly well carbonated, medium body.
I think I like Volume 2 just a little bit better. (Not reviewed here). The mosaic here is potent. I like this beer but feel like an all Mosaic ipa was “too much”. This makes sense in my head, oh well.

 

 

12oz can from Sprayberry Bottle Shop (Marietta, GA). 13.99/ 6 pack. Canned 10/4/18. Served in a Barrel and Barley teku. Enjoyed 10/12/18.

Pours a fully opaque, soft yellow orange with a tall, frothy white cap. The head gradually fades, leaving some patchy surface haze, a modest collar and a few thin but lengthy trails of lace.

Aromas of melon, citrus, faint berries and a hint of sweetness.

Tastes at once slightly bitter, softly juicy and bit cakey. Melon rind, citrus peel, seedy berry and vague pineapple pound cake. Almost no perceivable alcohol.

Medium feel with moderately inobtrusive carbonation. There os a little bitterness that continues into the aftertaste along with some citrus melon hop cake.

For my tastes they may never top Volume 2 (Citra and Galaxy) but Wild Leap is 3 for 3 in their Alpha Abstraction series. I personally twnd to prefer Mosaic mixed with other hops but this is one of the best Mosaic single hopped IPAs I’ve come across. I’m not sure why there is not more “hype” (for lack of a better term) around Wild Leap but I plan to keep enjoying their consistently excellent double IPAs.