Sticky Hands: World Tour
Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a lightly hazy, medium golden amber with a three finger white head that initially dissipates quickly, but leaves a rocky thick cap with good lacing. Aroma of pale malt, piney, citrus and grassy hops, pine, mixed citrus, mild mixed tropical fruit and hay. Flavor is lightly caramel malt, piney, citrus and noble hops, pine, mild mixed tropical and stone fruit, orange, grapefruit and a touch of dry grass. Nice fleeting fruit esters and solid bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess. I've had some great experiences with this series but was not expecting much from this one. I'm lukewarm about the grassy continental hops and often find New Zealand hops a bit harsh. This also sounded too busy. I should have trusted Block 15, though. This is a quite busy IPA, and many of the contributions from the hop varieties can be detected, largely from the Nugget and Citra (pine and citrus), but also flavors of mixed domestic and stone fruit that reveal themselves during the taste and give a nice, mild estery feel to the finish. Even getting some dankness. It all fits together for me, and I'm particularly fond of the finish of this one. And these guys always give me some solid bitterness to remember. I really liked this world tour and would like to see it again.

Canned 11/15. The pour is lighter than the regular variety. Piney notes in the nose. First sip is less intense than SH, with a more subtle taste, drier and more herbal. The 8.1% ABV is very well hidden. Light fruit, plenty of flavor. An interesting take on the concept which works well in this case.

 

Can from New Seasons.

A mildly hazy light orange with a dense white head with good retention and lacing this looks great. The nose is loaded with hops, though the older/more classic hop varieties - nugget/goldings- play second fiddle to the Hallertau Blanc, Rakau and maybe the Talus? The HB is so powerful, it smells like Sauvignon Blanc powder. The base beer is a drier and the yeast is far more reserved than typical for SH. The palate opens mildly bitter and very floral and tropical. Lots of grape, some melon, an undercurrent of the Willamette bitterness and the Goldings earthy flavor. Really, though, this is dominated by the mildly mineraly Sauvignon Blanc character. Mild medicinal notes? Drying, fruity, a bit boozy on the finish, amplifying the vinous notes. Light in body, moderately carbonated. Solid, though more fun to deconstruct than drink.