Soil & Citra
The Drowned Lands

It’s hard to believe this is already my twelfth beer from The Drowned Lands, it feels like just yesterday that I was getting into them. It’s been an odd journey so far, none have lived up to their Sour IPA, Fragaria, but I’m hopeful that each new beer I try might stand up to it. Let’s crack this one open and see if it has what it takes

Pours a hazy pale yellow with 3 fingers of soapy off white head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves minimal lacing

The nose is tropical and bright but suggests a nice bitterness as well. I’m picking up on aromas of papaya, mango skin, bready malt, woody hops, toasted coconut, light grass, and lime zest

This one has a really nice tropical fruitiness up front, but it’s choked out by a chalky bitterness on the back end, making for a rather contradictory beer. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting mango juice, pineapple, overripe cantaloupe, bready malt, grassy hops, papaya, orange juice, light vanilla, and weed. The swallow brings notes of papaya, woody hops, pineapple juice, toasted coconut, mango skin, bready malt, honey, and light grass

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth and creamy beer. Finishes mostly dry with a lingering bitterness

The dichotomy of fruity and bitter is a bit jarring here, but it’s a really fun beer overall

Pours honey gold, slight white head, limited lacing. Fresh hop aroma is abundant. And fantastic. Beyond that, oranges, melon, and fresh cut grass.

Taste is quite citrus, big notes of tangerine and peaches. Wheat, oat backbone. big mouthfeel, but a bit lacks refinement on the sugary sweet finish, Lightly carbonated - and the high ABV is well hidden underneath all the sweetness.

This DIPA is pleasant enough but too chaotic and messy to stand out in a crowded field of juice bombs brews.

 

 

 

 

A: Pours an opaque milky murky medium golden honey in color with moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and moderate burnt orange + bright orange + copper + dark golden yellow + apricot +.peach colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense creamy sudsy foamy off-white head that slowly reduces to a large patch of thick foam covering the entire surface of the beer and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of juicy citrus/tangerine + citrus/orange + tropical/melon + stone fruit/peach hops over the top of just shy of moderate aromas of biscuit + pale + wheat + oat malts with a light amount of sugary sweetness.

T: Upfront there are just shy of moderate flavors of biscuit + pale + wheat + oat malts with a light amount of sugary sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of juicy citrus/tangerine + citrus/orange + tropical/melon + stone fruit/peach hops which impart a hint of bitterness before quickly fading away leaving moderate lingering citrus + stone fruit hop flavors.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth with a creamy soft/fluffy mid-body and a light amount of dryness in the finish.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a very pleasantly creamy soft/fluffy mouthfeel. Very enjoyable hop profile and lots of juiciness.

Appearance: a cloudy, hazy, deep dark yellow with some amber hues. A thick and sticky foam head.

Aroma: a floral aroma. Some orange and tangerine. Maybe a little bit of melon notes in the background.

Taste: Sweet melon, citrus and peach notes. Well balanced.

Overall: I find this one to be a real joy to consume. Amazing drinkability with just the right amount of carbonation tingle on the tongue.

 

 

 

Soft and flavorful. A pleasure to drink.

Poured from an undated can into the test glass.
A - Cloudy dark yelow backdrop hides any views to the interior. A loves frothy white cap stays for a long time.
Lacing is bold.
S - Peach, soft summer melon, a whiff of tangerine. not a hint of malt base, or any yeast esters
T - Here there is a bit of pale malt, and then the hop melange takes over, again ripe melon, a hint of tangerine, peach all present the Citra quite well
M - Soft on the palate, neutral on the bitter or sweet scales. the finish is quick and dry
O - A finely executed DIPA with the water profile aligned to profile the lovely Citra hops,