Trick of the Light
Throne Brewing Company

Pours a clear golden straw with a finger of foamy head that slowly settles to a thin cap with plenty of lacing. Aroma of peach and tropical fruit. Taste follows nose.

 

Picked this up not too long ago when I was out in Arizona, was I stopped by a Total Wine in Tempe. I was drawn in by the synthwave label and the face that I never had anything from Throne before, but also because I've had a ton of New England IPA's from these parts and I wanted to see how this would hold up to those. This wasn't outstanding but it checked off all of the boxes as it was readily enjoyable with a hidden alcoholic presence.

Plenty brassy, hazy, and filled with fine sediment, this was a New England IPA through and through as the liquid was topped off with plenty of thick, soapy foam. A nice percentage of that stuck around as lacing with a thick ring remaining about a third of the way down the side of my pint glass with lots of splotchy patches the rest of the way down. Lots of mango, papaya, jack fruit, and white chocolate sweetness in the nose as the taste was just as exotic, juicy, and well-balanced. A strong, flagrant floral undertone tied everything in together as this was subtly bitter and more indicative of the Lotus Hops than the El Dorado and Mosaic.

That's not to say that they weren't there - as this was plenty dank, plush, and turbid with a nice slickness left on my teeth and enough heft to indicate that this shouldn't be messed with. Some gooseberry juice and dankness and orange blossom hints ensured that this had staying power to the end as the booze warmed me up and was complementary to everything else going on here. Nothing was stamped on the bottom of the can but with so much going on here, who's to notice? Glad to get a can of this as it was a worthy example of a locally familiar style!