Things We Don't Say
Wandering Soul Beer

Great beer. Most Ive had from wandering soul are top class! I had the version 8.0. Highly recommended. 8.2% abv. Smooth and full of flavor. Slight citrus notes but not overpowering.

 

V6 poured from a can into a tulip glass
Appearance – the beer pours a very hazy orange juice color with a small head of white foam. The head fades rather quickly, leaving a persistent foam film on the surface of the brew.
Smell – The aroma is very heavy of a tropical fruit with pineapple, papaya, tangerine, and mango. There are other big aromas of oat and bread along with some notes of a herbal and floral hop and just a bit of a vegetal and stone fruit smell of peach and apricot.
Taste – The taste begins with a sweet tropical fruit flavor, strongest of pineapple, but containing tangerine, mango, and papaya as well. Right from the start there is a rather strong bready and oaty flavor mixed with some light notes of biscuit. As the taste advances, more citrus enter the profile with a rather large increase in an orange juice like flavor. Throughout the profile there are some nice hop flavors as well, with a good showing of herbal and earthy hops along with some light floral and grapefruit notes. At the end the malt falters a bit while the fruit increases, leaving one with a rather fruit juicy and hopped taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel -The body of the brew is thick and chewy with a moderate to lower carbonation level, both being quite fitting for the style and the tastes.
Overall – A pretty decent NEIPA overall with an easy drinking nature.

 

 

 

 

Picked this up last week at The Bottle King in Livingston, as I never saw this beer or heard of Wandering Soul before. Obviously, this beer's style is a popular one but for a first impression, I enjoyed this and how easily enjoyable and accessible it was, as it's alcoholic presence was well-hidden!

This had a nice, golden hue to it that was filled with a few bits of dark sediment in it but it wasn't excessive as this had a nice, subtle glow to it. as the head that topped it off was plenty thick and pleasing to the eye. Loads of oats and wheat in the nose as the citrus and tropical notes of the hops took a back seat to them, with the latter emerging in the taste once the fully warmed up. Orange pith, mango, berry slickness, tangy grapefruit, and exotic star and jack fruit came through on the palate but this was maybe the most full *and* balanced example of the style that I've ever had. Sticky on my lips, it was the oats and wheat that put the beer over the top as it grew on me as it warmed up.

There was enough carbonation here as it took the rougher edges off of the body and countered the dank and heavy fruit flavors nicely. Canned on 12/7, this held up well over the intervening months as it felt fresh as could be and quite rustic as if it came from a vegetable patch, with hints of natural strawberry emerging in the aftertaste to complement everything else. This was not a typical New England IPA along the lines of those from Vermont or Massachusetts but Wandering Soul has a winner her that gives more credence to this style as this showed what one's fully capable of when it goes outside the box a bit. Give this beer enough time to warm up and you'll warm up to it as well!

Can dated 12/7/20 into pint glass. Pours a murky amber (SRM about 5) with a persistent off-white head. Initial impression is red grapefruit, mango, peach, and berries. Improves with warming - let it sit for a while if you can. Mouthfeel is nice and clean, but not particularly soft. Finish is more citrus, with a slight caramel undertone. Overall, an enjoyable NEIPA - my first from this brewery and I am impressed!

 

V4

16 oz can into a tulip glass.

Pours a hazy yellow gold color with a finger of creamy white head. Leaves a crown of lacing as it settles into a thin sheet.

The aroma brings strong notes of pineapple, peach, blueberries and honeydew melon as well as a wave of candied citrus and fresh mango. Lots of wheat bread on the back. Herbal and subtly earthy throughout.

The flavor completely caught me off guard: Tons of candied peach, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, honeydew melon, fruit stripe gum, grapefruit, and orange rind with a wheat bread backbone and an earthy, piney finish. It's a damn fruit salad. This is a beer that would make Tree House proud.

The feel is medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Very creamy with a dry finish. A touch boozy.

Overall, this is an excellent Imperial NEIPA. This beer assaults you so much with juicy hop flavor that you might consider filing a lawsuit. It's a little boozy and could use softer carbonation, but otherwise it's an outstanding beer.

Picked-up a single can at Total Wine in Braintree for about four dollars. My first brew reviewed from these guys. This was pretty good, canned on date of 7/21 may explain somewhat bland taste.

 

 

 

64 oz growler from Old Magoun’s Saloon. I’m thankful that the legislature is allowing bars to do beer to go during the state of emergency.

Pours a hazy pale golden orange in color with a finger of white head with sporadic lacing. Aroma has lots of stone fruit, citrus, and tropical fruits; it’s very inviting. Taste has some peach, nectarine, tangerine, grapefruit, mango, and some passion fruit. Finish has some sweetness reminiscent of the passion fruit but there is an underlying bitterness that tempers things and adds a measure of balance. Medium bodied with moderate plus carbonation. This is super tasty. It has the hoppy tropical notes that I enjoy from NEIPAs but with enough bitterness to provide some balance and actually enhance drinkability.

Light pineapple color with a 4F head in a Spielgelau IPA glass.
Citrus, and other fruit aromas.
Very smooth MF: flaked oats.
Lots of fruit flavors: citrus, stone fruit, and fruits I am unfamiliar with- most likely passionfruit.
Excellent hop profile.
Overall: best when warmed up to appreciate the full fruit flavor profile.

 

 

Canned 10/3/19

Pours a hazy golden orange topped with a finger and a half of creamy white head; foam recedes quickly to a thin collar, spotty islands of cap, and a smattering of moderate, soapy lacing.

Aroma opens with a medley of herbal peach, ripe orange peel, sweet mango zest, and grapefruit; a general array of semi-sweet, lightly spicy tropical fruits round out the bouquet.

Taste shows sharpened notes of ripe orange, red grapefruit, and tangerine to start, with lemon peel and wheaty spice touching up the mid-palate; pine and bits of rooibos tea come through on the finish.

Mouthfeel has a medium body, vaguely creamy in the background and carbonation on the lower end; minor tartness lends a brightness across the mid-palate, becoming slightly oily and resinous; juicy, with a mild alcohol presence through the swallow.

An otherwise easy NEIPA brought down a few notches by a persistent alcohol burn permeating throughout; all the elements of something great hang around (and keep the beer enjoyable), but everything is ultimately left on the more unrefined side, and just short of fulfilling its promise.