Water Snakes
Gilded Skull Brewing & Blending
- From:
- Gilded Skull Brewing & Blending
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- Hazy Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- +7 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.19 | pDev: 1.91%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Sep 11, 2020
- Added:
- Aug 12, 2020
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
Water Snakes is a New England DIPA. It owes its name to the massive Idaho 7, Azacca, Motueka and Citra hop charge we add to the whirlpool... which leaves the wort hop oil saturated and slick, thick, green and murky. We dry hop this ale twice, once at the tail end of active fermentation and then again before cold conditioning.
All of these hops sit upon a protein-rich grist that includes high percentages wheat, oats and chit malt. The finished product is soft, hazy and hits with aromatic tropical fruits and citrus juices that are not of your typical hazy IPA. Look for apricot, papaya, mango, orange, grapefruit and perhaps even some lime, vanilla and black tea.
All of these hops sit upon a protein-rich grist that includes high percentages wheat, oats and chit malt. The finished product is soft, hazy and hits with aromatic tropical fruits and citrus juices that are not of your typical hazy IPA. Look for apricot, papaya, mango, orange, grapefruit and perhaps even some lime, vanilla and black tea.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts
4.15/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.15/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I've been hearing about this one for a while and have definitely been excited to finally see it realized... Gilded Skull's first release, a New England IPA called Gilded Empire, was a surprisingly impressive first effort by the husband-and-wife duo behind GS, who are currently brewing and packaging their beer at Castle Island in Norwood, MA. This beer clocks in at 8% and features "huge additions of Citra, Azacca, Motueka, and Idaho 7 hops," according to the can label. I'm hit or miss with Azacca, as I've mentioned in some other reviews here, but the other hops definitely shine in good recipes, so I'm ready to give this a fair shake.
The pour is, of course, dense and opaque, with a creamy complexion, orange color, and a soft, full-bodied head that builds up to four fingers easily upon pouring right after cracking the can open. Jeez, guys. However, it does quickly settle to a rocky ring of one finger of suds, leaving behind some spotty, indeterminate lacing and holding tight atop the liquid with moderate legs. The foam is easily rousable with a quick swirl of my glass, which builds it back up for a few seconds and creates a small island of foam on the surface. Not a bad pour, for sure, but it's not special either.
The nose here is reminding me a bit of Castle Island's own Hi-Def DIPA, with a juicy mix of citrus and tropical fruit elements that aims towards a well-rounded center with a bit of sweet maltiness and ethanol heat just around the edges. I get a big helping of tangerine and pomelo with some guava-like cattiness (probably Citra), tangy lime, and papaya as well. The I7 hops provide some light melon and stone fruit backing notes with the somewhat tannic and leafy note they're also sometimes known for. I like the balance this strikes between aggressive/dank notes and softer, more nuanced fruit-forward character, and I haven't even gotten to sip it yet. Pretty great opening impression!
On the tongue, this is very soft and juicy with almost no ethanol heat whatsoever. Very drinkable, and features strong flavors of syrupy pineapple, papaya, tangerine, apricot, and honeydew melon with some lighter notes of spice, pear, and grassiness in the finish. No lingering bitterness, but it also kind of feels like it lacks a bit of character as a result. I really liked the dank-leaning approach the nose hinted at, but that element disappears on the palate, instead being replaced by some convoluted (yet still tasty) fruit flavors. I don't want to just point the finger at Azacca, but I do generally think it doesn't do a great job in denser IPA styles. It feels like it usually brings a chalky and blanketing element that drowns out the uniqueness of the other varietals used here.
Overall, this beer has a very nice feel that allows it to drink much smoother than other similar-strength juicy NEIPAs, but it just seems one-dimensional after the initially-great nose. I would prefer they reformulate it a bit, but no doubt many will enjoy it as is.
Aug 13, 2020The pour is, of course, dense and opaque, with a creamy complexion, orange color, and a soft, full-bodied head that builds up to four fingers easily upon pouring right after cracking the can open. Jeez, guys. However, it does quickly settle to a rocky ring of one finger of suds, leaving behind some spotty, indeterminate lacing and holding tight atop the liquid with moderate legs. The foam is easily rousable with a quick swirl of my glass, which builds it back up for a few seconds and creates a small island of foam on the surface. Not a bad pour, for sure, but it's not special either.
The nose here is reminding me a bit of Castle Island's own Hi-Def DIPA, with a juicy mix of citrus and tropical fruit elements that aims towards a well-rounded center with a bit of sweet maltiness and ethanol heat just around the edges. I get a big helping of tangerine and pomelo with some guava-like cattiness (probably Citra), tangy lime, and papaya as well. The I7 hops provide some light melon and stone fruit backing notes with the somewhat tannic and leafy note they're also sometimes known for. I like the balance this strikes between aggressive/dank notes and softer, more nuanced fruit-forward character, and I haven't even gotten to sip it yet. Pretty great opening impression!
On the tongue, this is very soft and juicy with almost no ethanol heat whatsoever. Very drinkable, and features strong flavors of syrupy pineapple, papaya, tangerine, apricot, and honeydew melon with some lighter notes of spice, pear, and grassiness in the finish. No lingering bitterness, but it also kind of feels like it lacks a bit of character as a result. I really liked the dank-leaning approach the nose hinted at, but that element disappears on the palate, instead being replaced by some convoluted (yet still tasty) fruit flavors. I don't want to just point the finger at Azacca, but I do generally think it doesn't do a great job in denser IPA styles. It feels like it usually brings a chalky and blanketing element that drowns out the uniqueness of the other varietals used here.
Overall, this beer has a very nice feel that allows it to drink much smoother than other similar-strength juicy NEIPAs, but it just seems one-dimensional after the initially-great nose. I would prefer they reformulate it a bit, but no doubt many will enjoy it as is.
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