2nd Lake IPA
Rutland Beer Works

L: Hazy yellow with a nice white head that dissipates leaving some lacing.

S: Grapefruit, pine and apricot. Oats come through.

T: Similar to the aroma, nice balance between malt and hops.

F: Dry and crisp. Light body.

Overall: A very tasty IPA, very much in the New England style although on the dry side of things.

 

Alert: Not retired. Picked-up a four pack of cans at Bradford's in Plymouth a couple of weeks ago, canned-on label of 3/20. My first brew reviewed from these guys, may have had a couple of others before. I believe this was ~ $14. Decent brew, nothing special.

 

16 0z into IPA glass. Dated 7/8/19.
Look is hazy yellow. Smell light tropical with a little bitterness. Taste follows not much up front and a bit of bitterness at end. Feel is light. Overall, maybe because of age I would not seek it out. OK but nothing special.

Light grapefruit color in a Garrison Teku with a 2F head.

Tropical fruit aroma ,citrus, earthy with warming.

Very carbonated.

Sharp strong grapefruit taste, some other citrus, very hoppy finish.

Excellent beer.

This has a few more reviews than the Better Dayz DIPA I just reviewed an hour or so ago by these guys, so it seems like this may be the closest RBW gets to a "mainstay" beer... wait a goddamn second... this was canned a WEEK ago?! Holy crap! That might be the freshest Vermont beer I've had in MA! Congrats to these guys for getting their stuff down here so quickly.

Pours a pale yellow-light golden color with a heck of a lot of haze. Solid legs but not much lace; very spotty, especially compared to BD, their other IPA I just wrote about. This seems like a standard NEIPA pour, maybe a touch lower in terms of SRM than some of the typical ones I've had... less golden/light-amber, and definitely more like a "pale ale." Not amazing, but I'll take it.

The nose is abundant with strong tropical fruit and citrus notes, kinda the opposite of how I felt about their DIPA interestingly enough! I get a ton of fresh, ripe papaya, mango, and passion fruit that melds with some solid blood orange and tangelo at times. Slightly grassy and herbal as well with a definite yeastiness and some toasty biscuit character from the English Pearl malt behind the intense tropical hop load.

Great flavor profile, too! Now this is a great NEIPA from an under-the-radar brewery! Strong flavors of mango, pineapple, and passion fruit with light grapefruit and papaya toward the finish. Slight berry and grassiness that lends some nice character coming out toward the finish of each sip. This is delicious... super balanced yet very hop-forward and perfectly-fermented with a round and soft finish that doesn't drink too dry or heavy. Nice and juicy... intense with a lot of pulpy tropical fruit and biting citrus rounding out each sip. Loving the hop choices here. Seems like a combination of old- and new-school varietals if I had to guess, maybe something like Mosaic/Centennial/Simcoe or some such variation? Not sure but it's extremely well-put-together.

Feel is superb too. Well-structured and very soft, drinkable, and enjoyable to crush. This is a great introduction to this brewery, for sure! I would absolutely return to this one. It's likely to remain underrated/underhyped, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't grab some if you see it. Awesome stuff.

 

Canned on 1/23/19. Reviewed on 4/1/19

A very thick looking liquid of white gold and orange hues. A pillowy white foam head, dense and creamy. Plenty of lacing in its wake.

The nose has some soft and creamy fruity aroma's that is just perfectly New England style. Lupilin powder, Smooth citrus, soft pineapple, oats'n cream scented golden malt and mango juice. A juicy scented delight.

The flavor's I notice most from the first gulp is: golden wheat and oats from the malt side, dry, leafy grasses and tangy citrus fruits. Some sour wheat funk is in there, along with peppery pineapple. A very earthy and herbal tone to the flavor overall.

The mouthfeel is in some ways light and clean, but also very soft and full, especially in the middle. Creamy start that finishes grainy and malty. Complex, to say the least.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the hazy ipa's I had while visiting the Hop n Moose in Rutland, VT before we went to see the jamband Twiddle at the Paramount Theatre across the street.

Can. Cloudy with rocky head and some lace. Grapefruit and pizza dough aroma. Medium doughy fruity sweetness with brisk clean grapefruit dry finish. Soft and medium and lively but not fizzy like a lot of NE IPAs. I'm not a fan of NE IPAs but this is a good one.

Ended up pouring into a becher pint glass. I don't normally pour New England styled IPA's into this style of glassware, but kinda said fuck it for tonight.
The appearance was a pure smooth hazy orange juice color pulling a small white foamy head falling off fairly quick and tight. Light speckled sticky lace.
The aroma had an unspeakably awesome blend of sweet to bitter pine rolling into orange rind and a touch of pith to punch at some bitter danky onion and hop spice.
The flavor presented an absolutely amazing blend of orange rind, hop spice, sweet pine. Nice intricate yet well blended aftertaste of orange rind bittersweetness, sweet pine and hop spice punch.
The mouthfeel was a mild medium bodied New England styled IPA with its appropriate carbonation. Nice ABV and damn, what an exceptionally awesome finish of sweet rolling pine and orange rind!
Overall, wait a minute, I didn't know these guys had it in them! All eyes will be turning to Rutland, VT if they keep putting this up.

 

Fresh can from brewery. Poured in a tulip glass.
Color: Straw, uniform cloudy, indicative of a true NEIPA; Like fresh grapefruit juice. Head was decently persistent, light & creamy. Impression: good

Aroma: Solid bouquet. Nose was sweet side of center; fresh/ organic & piney

Flavor: Smooth/ clean malt base strong enough to balance hop profile. Mild bread notes, great pine/ pineapple bitterness. Impression: good

Mouthfeel: Medium body, balanced carbonation; good texture, light-creamy mid-taste.

Finish: Long finish is bold, and balanced. No yeast or impurity notes.

Overall: I was impressed with this brew. Solid contender in a very competitive NEIPA landscape. Fresh and well balanced. Pearl malt was a good choice. Give it a try! Next will be their West Coast IPA, Black Diamond. Looking forward to that...