Hopbominable Cold Double IPA
New Realm Brewing Company

My first (that I know of) Cold IPA, I have no idea if this "style" is just a blip on the "beer radar" or a new trend, but Cold IPAs are a hybrid between a lager and an IPA. Use of lager yeast, plenty of West Coast hoppiness but in a cleaner, crisper package!!! I poured this beer from a 12 oz can into a pint glass. Features a clear light gold color, a small fizzy head that fades quickly and minimal lacing. Aroma and taste feature some floral aspects and mostly lemon and lime and a good amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel is the best part. Light and crisp as advertised but with good bitterness. There is probably some subtleties I have missed, I may have to try another!!!

 

This is from the New Realm Sampler variety pack, which has a date code on the box: "PKGD 11/04/22"
From the bottom of the can: "PKG 110422 1042 0071048"

Appearance: The body of the beer is a light lemon yellow color, appearing almost like Mt. Dew in the glass. There is a light haze to the beer but it is still easy to read text through. There is a short white head that is somewhat creamy textured but also contains larger bubbles. The head isn't very large to begin with, but it does still manage to retain a combination of foam islands and film with a ring around the glass. It has a few sudsy bubbles but not much for lacing either.

Aroma: There is a lemon aroma which hits the nose first, then there is a bit of a candied orange peel scent that comes in. There is also a light touch of wildflower, but mostly the lemon dominates the nose.

Taste: Up front there is this strong herbal hop note which tastes a bit like hop bine oil and a touch of garlic. The center of the palate sharply turns to this strong mixture of grain flavor, alcohol, and garlic. Some lemon flavor hits the middle of the palate with some lime zest character. The flavors are strong which is good but they feel a bit disjointed and the lemon character is overpowering. The back of the palate and aftertaste are bitter lemon.

Mouthfeel: The beer is on the lower cusp of medium to light. It has good carbonation. There is a light slickness to the beer. Bitterness is medium-high and it has a citrus bitterness quality, like bitter lemon.

Overall: This beer is a bit of a weird bird. It has strong flavors of lemon with notes of lime but there is also a presence of alcohol that gives it a bit of a limoncello vibe. The can does state that this is "9% ALC/VOL" so the presence of alcohol isn't a detractor, but it modifies the flavors and impacts the drinking experience of the beer quite a bit. I probably wouldn't buy this beer again but there might be a circumstance where I would. This would probably pair well with something like vanilla ice cream or mozzarella cheese...perhaps a caprese salad. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but the occasional mention could come up.