Unit F
Green Empire Brewing

Poured from a pint can into an IPA style glass. Nice 3 finger slightly off white head, with lacing that tracked the beer as it was consumed. The body is amber in color, semi opaque. The aroma was filled with apricots, pears and grapegruit all coming thru. The first sip revealed a great layering of fruity goodness with the kick of the El Dorado & Citra hops, finishing in a mellow mouthfeel cleansed by the biting edge of those two aforementioned hops. A classic DIPA that shines with Green Empire happiness!

 

 

This is my first beer from Green Empire, a new-ish VT-based brewery. A fresh batch of several of their beers was delivered to The Beer Store in Nashua, NH recently, and I happened to be there on the day the pallets of said beers arrived. I'm buddies with one of the employees, and when he quickly remarked that they had just gotten GE's beers in, I took a look at the stack and saw what else other than an IPA on the top pallet. I somewhat-jokingly said to him "I bet the next pallet is a DIPA, and the one after that is another IPA." He rolled his eyes in agreement and it turned out that I was right. So surprising. So, I guess you could say I immediately figured that these guys would be focusing on none other than hazy IPAs, and, considering they're from VT, they have some stiff competition just from within their own state alone. Hope this turns out solid!

The pour here is definitely solid, speaking of that word. Solidly-opaque, that is. It definitely has a bit more color and depth to it than a lot of other 8-9% DIPAs I've had, and that is likely due to the use of Golden Promise malt, which in my opinion, is kind of an underrated breed of barley that, when used in measured amounts, can really prop up a bland recipe. The head here is soapy but fairly consistent with a finger-tall ring lasting well after the initial pour. It leaves behind pretty nice, lingering lace which is visually-appealing for sure, and the legs aren't so bad either. A good build and definitely a positive first impression.

This beer utilizes Citra and El Dorado, which is usually a pretty good combo. ED is a hop that, in my view, tends to rely a lot on other hops to give it definition and purpose in a recipe, and here I am getting a lot of juicy mango, papaya, pineapple, all amid light notes of dankness and ruby red grapefruit that crop up a few minutes after the pour settles down. Slightly resinous with hints of mandarin orange as well... kind of less "punchy" than I like, but at least it doesn't smell boring or overly-estery. I'm hoping the GP malt helps sort of define this more by comparison with other similar-strength hazy dudes I've had recently, but overall I would just say that this is good enough but not incredible-smelling by any means.

Waves of tropical fruit and grassiness on the tongue are followed by slightly-detectable ethanol with some semi-sweet, honeyed malty undertones that luckily never really become obtrusive or unbalanced. The bitterness here is a bit more firm than some other juicy hop-forward ales I've had recently, which is quite nice especially considering I somewhat expected it to just be a big sweet mess... this is definitely the preferable way for things to go down, for sure. Papaya and pineapple from the nose come across solidly here, and the mid-palate remains in the mango/grapefruit realm with a dank/grassy swallow and finish that is unfortunately rather more anonymous than you'd think considering the solid character upfront.

I think I would try a few more beers from these guys before I just said they're another "drop in the bucket" brewery, to be one-hundred percent honest, but this doesn't really feel like anything special. Wouldn't pass it up if offered a can, but would never go out of my way for it again.

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 5/04/21. Pours a cloudy dark orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma is peach, ripe melon, mango, pineapple, mandarin, and apricot. 4

Taste follows peach, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, mandarin, and apricot low on bitterness but really big on tropical flavor. 4

Mouthfeel is rather big, soft almost creamy carbonation, not dry but slightly sticky, and really easy going down for 8.4% ABV. 4.25

Overall this is rock solid, maybe a tad sweeter than I was hoping, but a really well made NEDIPA. They just started distro in NH and I am very happy about that. 4

Had this at that one bar we went to in Burlington I think. (Three Penny Taproom).

Has the not sexy appearance of a hazy, muddled, despondent color of dark yellow, thin head. The aroma was a drastic improvement, lots of Citra hops here. Tangerine and pineapple.

Taste is decent, might have thought more of it if I wasn't crushing some world class Hill Farmstead hoppy beers before it, but this can still hang. Still keeps up the tangerine, orange and pineapple notes. The mouth feel has its ups and downs. It hides the alcohol pretty decently, but lacks the firm bitterness of a good double ipa. The body of the beer also has that too far away from barley almost watery vibe to it. The heavy dose of oats prevents the 'balanced bitterness' they alluded to.

Its a good beer, but its like hundreds if not thousands across the country using Citra hops. Something seemed different water wise too, soft? I dunno.

 

 

Picked up curbside at the brewery - super dank double IPA. I don't normally love hazy beers but the superb balance and nicely carbonated mouthfeel makes this a keeper. Pungent citrus and pine hops, it has the "almost salty" feel I love in some IPAs, really great malt balance. I may be starting to like NEIPAs more , cheers

This one has a kind of milder mouthfeel with a thin body and slight bitterness on the backend. Holds a nice pineapple and citrus taste throughout. Contains more of a sweet milder taste than a bold and bitter one ending a little dry. Look of a hazy yellowish color.

Although it was a nice beer, I typically enjoy more of a fluffy, medium to bolder body feel as this one was a little thinner and dryer. Would recommend if you like those characteristics.

 

 

 

 

16 oz. can packaged on 12/03/19.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a nearly one inch white head over a murky golden body with scant lacing. Nose of pineapple, citrus, and pine. Taste mirrors pretty closely with the expected bitterness coming way too soon. Good feel and overall, another DIPA (NEDIPA!) not as good as I had hoped. Cheers!

 

 

Bottom of the can stamped "09/24/2019."
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was an absolutely stunning opaque burnt orange with a slight "blaze" to it. Some concave wispy lace tries to stick to the glass but ends up sliding with the sips.
The aroma was a beautiful bouquet of semi-sweet pineapple and melon rolling into some light notes of pear and a clean cracker malt.
The flavor moderately leans towards the sweet side spotting remnants of bitterness of some melon rind. Smooth aftertaste of melon, pineapple and cracker malt.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a good sipping quality about it, some dryness but not invasive. Really nice smooth clean finish with a subtle grip, no hop burn and nothing sticky whatsoever.
Overall, this is where it's at! Many brewers trying to do the New England IPA style need to try this beer and see how Green Empire is getting it done right!