Proteus XI
River Styx Brewing Company

Super smooth for the ABV, so it has great mouthfeel. I found the scent and taste very juicy, with notes of butterscotch in the nose. Overall, an excellent NEIPA.

 

First time I've seen a can from this relatively new brewery on the retail shelves so I picked up a few rather expensive cans from Craft Beer Cellar. Quite different from what I'd expect from a New England IPA but no complaints whatsoever. Regardless of any style problems, this was a delicious and very satisfying Double IPA. The 8.0% ABV seemed to be about perfect and was not a detriment to the overall feel. Regardless of the cost factor, I'll be happy to purchase Proteus again.

 

Canned 16 days ago.

L -- Pours an amber-gold orange with moderate haze and two fingers of rocky off-white head produced with moderate pour. Some retention and spotty lacing. Nice can design
S -- Watermelon, honeydew, red grape, orange creamsicle, hint of sweet maltiness and booze
T -- Red grapefruit rind & pith, caramel malty sweetness, dried pine resin, bitter grassiness, sugar-coated dried pineapple
F -- Medium+ mouthfeel, medium- carb. Has a decent amount of lasting, resinous bitterness and a somewhat syrupy mouthfeel from the malts
O -- Comes across as something akin to an updated version of Lagunitas Brown Suga or other high gravity, malt-forward hoppy beers. Has the NEIPA dry hopped aromas, but the flavors definitely trend more west coast. Somewhat similar to what Trillium is doing with their lighthouse series. Still curious to try more form this relatively new MA brewery

72/100

 

Can. Pours a dull, fairly hazy color. Looks like a lot of these second wave hazy beers sprouting from the hazy motherland. Smells sugary sweet. Dull, sorta like the hue of the beer. Sweet, sugary flavor too. This tastes very similar to other breweries. Not a ton of vibrant, juicy fruitiness. In a style that doesn’t have a lot of room for variance, I do not like this growing take on the New England style.