Stratacaster
Tonewood Brewing - Barrington

Well done haze that brings interesting spruce notes to the game atop the usual suspects of citrus and pine. Not overly sweet as it trends toward some resin and bitterness in the end, even though slightly. These beers fall on a knife's edge for me with sweetness, and Tonewood got it right IMO. Interesting and a shade different than the norm. Worth a grab for sure

 

It's a good pour , the one that emptied the entire contents of a pint can into a clear glass liter mug. Although it's well-carbonated, there's not much head and the pour was at cellar temperature. This is moderately cloudy and dark yellow-amber. The less than modest head was off-white. Its aroma is light, especially on starches. What's there is hoppy, more like pine than citrus. The taste starts off with a good sharp grapefruit-like bite, then transitions to something more piney. There's more of a sweet biscuity starch backbone than the nose predicted. The alcohol contributes to the overall taste, assisting on a nicely moderate bite at the finish. Even without much of a head, nor glass lacing, it looks good enough. The barley/oat blend and the tasteful hopping make this a very good modern American Imperial IPA.

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $5.20 plus tax. Canned on date says "Where's Sean? 02/13/24" so that means that it's 4 1/2 months old.

Look: Moderately hazy yet still translucent with a window of clarity at the bottom of the snifter. It has a yellowish orangish glow. There was a fluffy off-white head upon pouring out that receded to a thin layer with a slightly taller grip along the walls of the glass. It has a nice steady stream of tiny bubbles rising up to maintain the fluffy head.

Smell: Interesting. It's hard to distinguish particular notes. It does smell nice. Very fruity with notes of mango, melon, and pineapple. Grapefruit and orange as well. This almost smells like a creamsicle-style smoothie with the vanilla marshmallow note that I am picking up. But there is also an herbal greenness here that indicates bitterness. Also dankness.

Taste: Up front, it's really sweet with stone fruit, melon, and citrus flavors. The finish is significantly bitter with some of that herbal greenness and pine and some resin, but the bitterness doesn't linger so long and then the beer reverts back to sweetness.

Feel: It has a very soft mouthfeel, especially for an 8.2% ABV Double IPA. Slightly chalky.

Overall: This is good, but too sweet for my taste. I've been impressed with the other Tonewood beers that I have had, but this one is a bit disappointing for me.

From the can:
Style: Modern Double India Pale Ale
Hops: Chinook | Strata | Cascade | Amarillo
Malts: 2 Row, Pilsner, Rolled Oats, Carafoam

Pours a hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has tropical and citrus hints
Taste has a pleasant tropical and citrus flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good NEIPA

 

 

Canned on 1-09-22

A - Pours a hazy medium golden tan color with thin, dense white lacing.

S - Citrus and tropical fruit on the nose with a degree of dank cannabis/hemp/weediness.

T - Light citrus, some peppery citrus rind, light tropical fruit, with a slight bit of dankness. The ABV is very well hidden.

M - Big medium body with a degree of chewiness.

O - Would like to try with a fresher can. Though decent, the age of the can played an obvious role with the aroma and taste being underwhelming.

working for me, what can i say? decent offering from a good outfit, and i approve. canned on 2/9/22, consumed 3/25/22 so. nice and fresh.
L: from the can and it's stylish.
S: grassy with some citrus and some dank. Nice.
T: nice. juicy. citrus, bit of pine. some sweet fruit.
F: light carbonation. pleasant enough
O: not a star but definitely worth trying.

 

Thanks to Jonphisher for this one. 16oz can (no date) poured into 16oz tulip. Poured the expected fully turbid of the Murkbomb style with about 1/2 inch of white head that had decent retention and no lacing.

The aroma was the frooty hop scent of the Strata hops, no grain or malt aspect. Pretty similar on the tongue, with a light touch of hop bite at the back.

The body was the typical light and smooth of the style, and had a medium-dry finish.

Drinkability was OK for the style, if you're a fan it'll be a better quaff for you than me. Overall, a nice enough tick, but another average murkbomb.

2021-12-25
16oz can served in a tulip. If there's a date on it, I don't see it. Sent to me by @jonphisher.

Pours a murky dark orange-amber with a fairly large head. Lots of active carbonation. Appears to be forming some heavy lacing. Smell is orange julius and tropical juice.

Taste is super, super juicy. Moderate pine resin and grapefruit zest. Vibe is mostly tropical with a twist of something sharper, but I'm not sure what. Star fruit was the first thing to came to mind, but I doubt that's really it.

Mouthfeel is medium, light to moderate chalkiness. Overall, this is a really good beer.

(16 oz can, STRATA 3/10/21 'BAG IT, TAG IT'; Crosby Hop Farms LLC logo; purchased single off shelf... poured into a fat tulip)

L: moderately-hazy, opaque, light amber liquid; rocky, craggy, bumpy foam sponge... disturbing slug of something slimy with last few ounces topping the glass after some sips; left 1-2 oz in the can... nearly no lace; thin, spitty collar

S: orange, apricot, berry notes; mango skin overtone; overall, a tropical melange with highlights of chlorophyll, peach yogurt, and lip balm and a relatively strident beam of booze cutting through

T: well-rounded, complex, dimensional musky citrus-mango punch up front; aftertaste is moderately bitter and green, with even some pine and mint menthol-like back notes... seems like some muddy cereal grain flavor bottom-feeding, providing a dirty base for the funky hop soup... vague cannabis color

F: has a texture similar to a weizenbock; silky, creamy, stealth heat... the hop bitterness (and booze I'm sure) provides an uplifting sting upon the tongue, stimulates appetite (for more sips)... the alcohol does seem to creep up; that sting wakes me up

O: not really my usual cup of tea, but these Strata hops seem to be something special, or at least slightly more interesting than the familiar strains of hazy hops... I would certainly grab this again; one of the better modern IPAs I've had from them (1755)

16oz can that's less than a week old. Thoroughly hazy, capped with a big head; great retention with tons of lacing. Dual personality aroma -- on the one hand, it's a piney, resinous, herbaceous, while on the other I'm noting tropical fruits like pineapple and passion fruit. Somewhat sweet on the palate, and even more so as it warms. Shades of orange-pineapple juice, though with a healthy dose of pithiness. Soft, smooth mouthfeel that's not at all prickly. This is sweet(-ish), juicy, hop nectar, and very enjoyable.

11/4/20 stamped on the bottom of this tall can...so about 2 months in the can.

Pours out with about a medium haze, lasting frothed up cap and leaves behind more then ample webs of fine lacing and sheeting....fine looking brew.

Give it a whirl, give it a sniff...my challenged sniffer reveals just some mild fruity notes.

Fresh, fruity and quite tasty offering...ripe pineapple, soft melon, mangos and kiwi all in the mix. Worthy take on the style...go get some.

Hazy gold pour with sturdy white head that laces. Strata is an interesting hop--gives you bitter citrus rind, and a creeping herbal presence akin to hemp. Not a complex DIPA, but it does one thing really well.

 

L-Hazy straw color.....opaque, aggressive pour yields 2 fingered white frothy head.....retention is adequate lacing is thick

S-Juicy fruit gum, berries, orange, peach, ....some grainy characteristics along with some sugary sweetness from the malt

T-Grainy, bready....hops are not as fruity as the nose would indicate,.......greatfruit, orange, tangerine.....finish is citrus rind

F- Soft, mild carbonation, a bit slick

O- My first try of Tonewood....while not mind blowing certainly good enough to buy other offerings from this brewery

 

L: Pours a hazy yellow color with a half finger of white head.
S: Notes of tropical fruit as well as grassy and pine notes.
T: Pineapple and orange up front with some pine and resinous notes on the finish. Mild hoppyness.
F: Medium carbonation and body, soft mouthfeel
O: A nice DIPA from Tonewood.