False Prophets
Branch and Blade Brewing

 

Pint can born on 7/27/18 "Drink the Kool-aid". Opened on 8/20/18

A very lush and milky appearance, bright gold and apricot color, full of life as the thick, white foam just stays high. Clumps of thick lace hang on tight after the sea foam eventually falls away.

The nose is simply wonderous. Packed full of amazing hoppy tones, sweet fruits: mango and pineapple. Citrus and fruity candy, mint leaves and strawberries. Complex fruity aromatics is impressive. Some caramel sweetness pops out along with the adjuct's corn sugar oats and wheat within the light but heady malt charecter.

The flavor... where to even begin?!?!
The sweetness hits first, hoppy-fruity sweets along with the addition of corn sugar, which you can taste big time. A mango and malty sweetness seems to ride over all else at first. Bold and hoppy fruit effects of mango and pineapple with an earthy-funk of heady wheat malt seems to mingle for a bit. The malty side adjunct grains of oats and wheat can be felt in the smooth, silky body texture. The flavor is enhanced by both of these through a silky, grainy and sweet edge. I'm seriously enjoying the New England ipa's that have oats/wheat and lactose added sugars. The effect in the feel is awesome, giving it a seriously deep and embracing mouthfeel.

The hops in the ipa's from B&B are about as fresh and deep as you could hope for. I've tried to stay away from comparing my home town spot to the like's if Treehouse and Trillium, but...the quality is very comparable. The New England IPA style has that rad, light malty appearance that delivers complex flavors that blow my mind and still allow the hops to shine. I LOVE the malt to mirror flavor's more reminicint of pilsner or golden ale's, add the grain and sugar adjuncts and you have a brand new beast of an IPA.

So, the body is pretty light until the middle fills with the texture of liquid silk! Then, it's medium...practically full and then dry.

The sweetness from the addition of the corn sugar might bring it over the top, style wise. I'm seriously enjoying this extreme side, but it also sort of mutes the big hop effect by blurring the lines of the style. A slightly sweet n' sour after taste comes from the added sugars.

All in all...it's creative, unique, interesting and high quality suds. Rock on B&B...keep this stuff coming!!

 

Poured at the brewery. Pleasantly cloudy straw yellow with a short but tenacious head.

The smell is a wonderful melange of fruity goodness. Apricot, pineapple, melon, tropical fruits in the mango territory.

Taste follows in no particular order. A tropical and melon fruit punch. There is a mild grapefruit note along for the ride. It is quite a tasty treat, bit difficult to describe. There is very little bittetness, a decent level of sweetness but not too much.

Medium feel and soft on the tongue.

Oversll, a beer I enjoyed. Very nice combination of flavors, short of being "pulpy". Give this one a chance, folks.

Bought after a recent store release in Nashua, NH. Right out the can the aroma was a stunning citrus, and sweet pineapple, wheat, barnyard, wetness, minor funk. The taste was an overall enhancement of smell, followed by mind blown. The look is a deep, solid yellow, golden, and hazy, mild carbonation, horizontal lines, moves in glass like a soda. The palate is so gentle and delicate, with a smooth and almost edible mouth feel. The front end of the palate is rounded hardly bitter and juicy. The middle palate is just a burst of dank hoppy goodness and aromas well contained and not overly concentrated. Back palate is so delicious fragrent aroma just overwhelming the senses, so lush. Absolutely high-end. I wanted to pick up the phone and sing praises to all my friends. Fragences are almost never ending, It's as if they brewed this pineapple juice, apples, fresh hops, sweet candy, deep deep complex yeast strain, potpourri. Scents are unrelenting and exceptional after sitting in glass. What a privilege this beer was, hope to try more from these guys!

Poured into a Nordic pint glass canned on 7/27/18. Pours a very hazy and attractive yellow, with a massive 2 finger sticky white head that leaves a thick wall of lace behind, with very nice retention.

Smell is apricot, cantaloupe, bubble gum, mango, and a hint of grapefruit.

Taste follows apricot, Mellon, mango, and some bitter grapefruit in the balanced finish.

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, nice soft mouthfeel, a little sticky on the tongue, and very drinkable at 7% ABV.

Overall this is very nice and different, not in a bad way, but the bubble gum hint and the dry Mellon makes it stand out from other NEIPAs.