On The Gogh
Breakaway Beerworks

 

 

 

 

Can to English pint glass.
The appearance was a burnt yellow color with a touch of transparency about it. A finger and a half's worth of white foamy head sat atop in a rocky sort of way. Small filmy glazings of lace started to string themselves out the more I sipped.
The aroma hits on fresh pine needles, grapefruit pith, pineapple juicy scents, sweet grains, grassiness and some clean biscuity malts.
The flavor moderately yields to the sweet side but seems to push on and bring some bitterness and a semi-juicy citrusy hoppiness coming through with some warmth. Slight aftertaste of pineapple, pine needles and biscuity malts.
The mouthfeel was between medium and full bodied with a good sipping quality about it. Good carbonation as an American IPA. Bitter finish of pine needles and a certain dryness.
Overall, pretty nice American IPA that I would have again.

 

PKG 4/25/19
Opened on 6/13/19

Only the slightest haze resides within this white Gold color. The head is dense and pillowy white foam. Superb retention. Fat Lace.

Honey scented golden...or pilsner malty aroma hits me first. Second whiff has soft citrus, pineapple chunks, dry grasses of mid summer and tangy wheat. A rather subtle nose.

First impression from the first sip: light...clean...then- BLAM!! Super dry! Light bodied maltiness brings dry golden grains, very earthy...did I mention dry?? "On the Gogh" shouts: "Brut style" IPA all the way for me. Even, the sharp, dry earthy but mildly citrusy hop effect is right for that style.
I really dig the easy-breazy, light and crispy mouthfeel effect. Keeps me gulping and coming back for more... quickly. The peppery dry bite on the back of the palate is also a nice feature. Even though this is not the most complex or hazy IPA, it certainly has its charms, subtle in aroma and flavor, big on overall feel and drinkabilty.

Can from the Packie Mostly clear light golden color with a huge frothy bone white head that persists. Earthy citrus and pine with bits of fruit and a bread toasty malt base underneath.

 

16oz can dated 10/24/18.

Pours cloudy yellow with a fluffy head of white with moderate retention and minimal lacing. Pithy grapefruit and melon rinds in the nose. Leafy. Medium bodied with a creamy but crisp mouthfeel with a chalky texture. Grapefruit pith and bitter, earthy resin on the palate. Finishes with zero malt and a chaulky, bitter aftertaste.

From a 16oz can, dated 10/24/18. Served in a tulip.

Pours a moderately hazy, cheerful orange-gold colour with a finger-and-a-half of frothy, foamy head. Retention is so-so-decent, leaving a sudsy cap, collar and curtain of lacing.

A relatively subdued nose, weird but not unpleasant and sort of hard to pin down, like sweaty denim or something. Too faint to really get a grip on.

Taste is earthy and dry with a slightly dank, sweaty character, there don't seem to be any of the usual flavour descriptors here, certainly not fruity, maybe spicy/grassy and desiccated pine needle but more like a textile, sort of like sucking on linen or a bolt of cotton. No sweetness, just a baking soda-like dry bitterness through and through.

Feel is... let's use 'dry' again - prickly and dry, medium bodied with aggressive carbonation.

Reading back over my notes, I've made it sound pretty awful but actually I enjoyed it just fine. At worst, it was palatable. I just checked the brewer's description and apparently it was hopped with ella and azacca which I would never have guessed.

Breakaway Beerworks "On The Gogh"
One Pint can, "PKG 08/30/18 10:15:37 6.5% ABV"
$4.25 @ Candia Road Convenience, Manchester, NH

Notes via stream of consciousness: Interesting label, interesting name. It's poured a hazy straw gold body beneath a three-finger thick head of just slightly off white foam. The nose is surprisingly delicate for an IPA, but it has a pleasant orange/earthy/piney character to it that's nice. Had I not known this was an IPA, based on the aroma I'd have believed it was a pale ale. Moving forward... the malt is fairly light and straightforward, I'm guessing there might be some oats or wheat in here but no caramel malt, which is exactly what you want if you really want your hops to shine. As of now I've still got a solid surface covering which is pretty unusual, and there's some excellent lacing left behind. I'm curious as to whether or not that will hold up, but for right now it's got a 4 out of 5 for appearance. Back to the flavor, the hops remain pretty much the same. I'm getting orange with perhaps some apricot as the main note, and then the earthy, spicy, and piney notes following. Wow, the earth and pine and spice really lingers in the aftertaste. I'm not sure how bitter it is, it doesn't seem that bitter, but it is at IPA levels. It's more bitter than a standard pale ale let's say, but not too far beyond it, That gives it a nice balance. It's gently sweetish and fruity upfront, and then dry and spicy/earthy/piney in the finish. It's easy drinking and the body helps with that. It's medium-light in body and crisp but with a fine-bubbled zestiness rather than a bigger-bubbled carbonic bite. I've really come to appreciate it. It's superbly balanced and rounded. There is some strength to it, yes, but I still feel like I could drink a few of these in a row if I wanted to. Worth trying.
Review# 6,295

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 8/30/18. Pours a slightly cloudy yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves waves of lace behind with incredible retention. 4.5

Smell is apricot, herbal, slightly earthy, pine resin, and grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows apricot, guava, earthy hops, piney, and white grapefruit incredible balance. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a solid medium plenty of life, a tad dry, maybe a tad dry and not complaining, and incredible drinkability at roughly 6.7% ABV. 4.5

Overall this is just a fantastic cross from West to East Coast, not one category or the other a highbred of the two. A special beer that drinks bigger than 6.7%, but also goes down very easy. 4.25