Hop Along
Love City Brewing Company

How did I come to get this CAN? I was at the Roy Pitz CANnivesary party in PHL not this past Saturday, but Saturday a week prior (Sa, 23 June 2018) & their facility is in extremely close proximity to both the newest Yards & Love City B.C. so we did a walking tour. Imagine my elation, shock & surprise when the owner comes out to greet us & it was none other than Kevin Walter! Kevin was the second brewer at IHLNC, but when he moved on, I lost track. He was gracious enough to gift one of each of his CANned offerings to me for inclusion in The CANQuest (tm) & here we go!

From the CAN: "IPA Beer".

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle Glug until I realized that no amount of gentility was going to overcome its inherent hazebro-ness. At that point, I ramped up to a hard, fast, aggro pour that eventually resulted in just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with decent retention. The day's heat & humidity quickly took their toll, however, and the head dissipated to wisps with only minimal lacing. Color was a cloudy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4). Nose had a tropical fruit sweetness, but it was interestingly citrusy, like pineapple & orange/tangerine. Dole used to make a pineapple-orange juice, of which this reminded me. Mouthfeel was medium. Curious, since I thought that part of the idea of these NE AIPAs was to increase mouthfeel. Shrug. The taste remained juicy, like pineapple and orange with a little bit of grapefruit for bitterness. I hate to be dismissive, but I am not a fan of these interpretations of the style. I just don't dig the way that they lack an inherent bitterness, which is the hallmark of the style. Finish was semi-dry, but just not satiating. I, for one, will be elated when this haze craze blows over.

 

 

Love City Brewing Co. "Hop Along IPA"
16 fl. oz. can, "CANNED ON 05/09/18 10:08:49"

Notes via stream of consciousness: Well this is a hazy one. No, I take that back, it's cloudy like a hefeweizen. It looks like a glass of orange juice beneath a finger-thick head of bright white. The aroma isn't that bold but it's definitely "juicy" with citrus and apple. I wasn't sure of what to expect of this but it appears to be a "juicy" "New England-style" IPA. On to the flavor... ahhhh, very nice! There's an apple/pear and berry-like fruitiness to it as well as the citrus, and it's not too "rind-like", "pithy", or mineralish. The malt is lightly sweet, and just a base really for the hops, and that's offset by some light tartness. Back to the citrus, it's orange-like and lemony, and nicely balanced. There might be some grapefruit in there as well, or at least it appears a little like that with some bitterness coming out in the finish despite that fact that it's not really that bitter. Some lemon-like flavor and tartness sits on the front of the tongue. It's interesting, and highly drinkable! This will make a great summer beer. Looking back the head has dropped to just a spider-web coating on the surface but there's some nice broken lace left along the walls of the glass. In the mouth it's medium-light in body and gently bristling and then smooth. I'm impressed, this is really well done. It's very refined, and to be honest, fairly unique within the basic peramaters of the style.