Nova
Kettlehead Brewing Company

 

Middle of the road Kettlehead for me, tasty for sure, but they've put out better recently. All the now-iconic Kettlehead characteristics are present - murky, juicy, low-bitterness, smooth mouthfeel, clean finish. Very enjoyable.

 

Can from the Packie
Lightly hazy lemon yellow with a frothy white head that slowly recedes. Earthy citrus with hints of mango and sweet bread. Light alcohol light astringency.

 

 

 

Got in a trade with SawDog505. 16 ounce can into tulip glass, no can dating. Pours opaquely hazy deep golden amber, light orange/green color with a small fairly dense and rocky off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn/pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and bready malt notes; with decent strength. Taste of big tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn/pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Mild pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn/pine, wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 8%. Overall this is a very nice NEDIPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; great soft feel for the style. Feels like mostly Galaxy as expected of the name. Very juicy and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a perfectly balanced wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example as expected. Just wish the aromas had a lot more strength.

Serving: Can
No date (Consumed Apr-28-2019)


It pours cloudy yellow with a skiff of soapy white head that totally disappears. Little retention; little lacing. The aroma is green, weedy, limey bitterness with a little sweeter citrus. The flavor is sweeter with oranges, pithy hops and a touch of very light malt. It is a touch chalky-feeling with medium carbonation and a lingering hoppy tingle to the finish. All told, this is a drinkable, tasty beer.
It is fruity and bitter without either totally dominating. I'd happily have it again.

3.75...4...4.25...3.75...4

 

From a 16oz can, off a ring dated 04/10/19. Served in a spiegelau IPA glass.

Pours like a super-pale glass of grapefruit juice with just shy of two fingers of light, sudsy head. Retention is just alright, leaving a sloppy collar and sparsely scattered gobs of lacing. Looks right.

Aroma is relatively faint but very appealing. Earthy, woodsy herb, and tart berry with a mildly sweet vanilla-cream base note.

Taste leads with tart underripe berry. Guava, gooseberry and Seville orange with a squeeze of lime. Bhang water with some light bitterness but mostly just tart. The vanilla cream puts in a fleeting appearance at the finish, there and then gone.

Feel is thinly juicy, vaguely resinous, and medium bodied with bright, zesty carbonation.

Overall, a treacherously easy-to-drink NEDIPA. It starts out all underripe, tart and resinous before smoothing out and becoming lightly sweet and creamy but at no point was I aware of the 8% abv until it was time to get up off the sofa to rinse out my glass.

Many thanks to SawDog505 for this can!

A - Opaque medium tan color with bubbly white frothy lacing.

S - Herbally and slightly fruity on the nose.

T - Tropical fruit, papaya, and there is some orange buried down under. A little herbally / "weedy" and finishes balanced but more towards the sweeter side.

M - Thick, robust, and chewy.

O - The ABV in this beer is dangerously well hidden and totally undetectable which says this is very well brewed. These guys really know what they're doing and I haven't tried a beer yet from them I haven't liked (thx to SawDog505). A recommended try, legit shah right here.

L - 1-finger fluffy offwhite head atop a dirty orange body.

S - grapefruit, herb, orange, biscuit.

T - biscuit-forward. I’ve never tasted a beer with this much biscuit, presumably from the malt. Next comes grapefruit, cotton candy, orange flesh, a little dankness. Low bitterness. Moderate-low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium-full, glossy body with average carb.

O - not sure what to make of the strong biscuit taste. Unusual but good.

So this stuff is a slightly dank and juicy treat. Pours like a glass of pineapple orange juice with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves load thin wisps of lace behind. 4.75

Smell is papaya, guava, pineapple, and passion fruit with a hint of herbal marijuana. 4.5

Taste follows tropical front to back guava and papaya stand out most, with pineapple and hints of marijuana. 4.75

Mouthfeel is above medium, sticky not dry, a nice soft mouthfeel, and at 8% ABV crazy drinkability. 4.75

Overall Kettlehead Brewing creates another juicy and awesome NEDIPA. I highly recommend this one once again. 4.75