Missing Dumbphone
Atelier VRAI

Pours a hazy, dark orange coloration with a large, fluffy head and chunky bits on final pour. Smells of biscuity malt and tropical hops, with vague notes of mango and papaya. Taste is a great balance of biscuity malt and fruity, slightly dank and resinous hops, with tropical, stone fruit and citrus notes of mango, papaya, peach and grapefruit, as well as hints of pine and grassy weed. Finishes with a medium bitterness, light hop burn and some mango, peach and hints of grassy weed lingering in the aftertaste. Soft, fluffy mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While this is not perfect, which may be down to age, a Quadruple IPA is hard to pull off and they did a marvellous job here overall, confirming to me once again that Atelier Vrai is the new star on the German NEIPA scene. This avoids all the usual pitfalls of the style, not feeling to sweet or boozy at all, with a very juicy character and great, soft mouthfeel to it. While the aroma falls a little flat and the hops are not that well-defined, they also don't have that that overripe feel to them that high-ABV IPAs often display and still feel vibrant and juicy, with some very nice tropical, stone fruit notes and dank and resinous accents.