Delight
Aspire Brewing

New-to-me Brewery. No canning date.
Gray on black can art of a Nuthatch on a branch under the "A" logo.
Nothing on the label reads hazy like their other beers in the cooler, until I read "brewed with .. oats and wheat."
So... it pours with heavy haze in an orange-amber liquid topped by a sticky, creamy white head that left smears of lace as it slumped. Decant carefully - lots of dregs in the bottom if you care.
You'd think - or at least I would, that a new Brewery opening in the same town as Equilibrium, and only a river and a county away from Sloop would think to differentiate themselves from the hazy, NE murk crowd, especially since New York state isn't even in New England.
Apparently not.
Aroma is malt and raw grain mixed with melon and over ripe papaya. Notes of conifer and some lemon zest but thankfully citrus is not dominant.
Flavor is sharp up front - both hop acids and alcohol heat fight the malt and win while tart hop flavors move in to linger in the dry aftermath.
In the end there is decent balance - the malt struggles but stands up with help from the oat texture.
Mouthfeel is lighter than anticipated - medium + with alcohol warmth.
Hints of caramel and green raspberries are quickly washed away in the bitter, dry finish.