Drawing A Blank
Abomination Brewing Company

L: Poured from a crowler to a snifter glass. Had a yellowish color and an extremely cloudy consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy, somewhat long-lasting head. Pretty good lacing.

S: A sweet and fruity aroma of citrus fruit, hops, tropical fruit,and malt.

T: Tasted of a little bit of malt (mostly in the finish; not a huge factor), a lot of citrus fruit (grapefruit and orange, in particular), a moderate amount of hops (not overdone, but just enough), and a good shot of tropical fruit (mango and papaya, especially). This is an incredibly well-balanced flavor. Not as fruity as some NE IPAs, but still quite tasty.

F: An average amount of carbonation with a dry finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A very well done and easy to drink beer. Worth a try.

 

 

 

 

 

*Poured into a Teku glass from a 16oz can*

Poured a pale straw yellow and had that classic hazy/cloudy look to it. Had about a half finger thick head to it, but it had absolutely no retention.

There was a massive hop aroma coming from the glass. I expected no less since they triple dry hopped this to insanity. The aroma started off with the classic grapefruit aroma with some lemon and oranges. Towards the middle I got more hints of tropical fruits such as pineapples and mangoes. Towards the end, I was left with a slight boozy ethanol aroma, but not much else.

Upfront, there was a strong ethanol/boozy taste which eventually mellowed out to its more citrus esters. It was in the middle where I got the bitterness from the grapefruit and the tangy sweetness from oranges. Towards the end, I was able to pick up some of its malty breadiness and there was no bitter aftertaste from what I expected, but I did get a bit of a grass clipping aftertaste.

Juicy and full bodied, I felt that as I continued to drink this it became a bit overwhelming and too heavy to drink. The massive hop aroma and high ABV, coupled with the full bodied-ness of this beer kinda made it difficult to finish. Overall, I felt like this was a really solid NEIPA but the feel of this beer kinda made it a bit too heavy for my personal tastes.

 

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, Abomination Brewing says that "double" isn't enough so they trippled everything. Triple hop variety, triple dry-hopped on a "Triple" IPA. I guess for these folks, it's triple your pleasure, triple your fun.

Built on the backs of Mandarina Bavaria, Citra and Galaxy hops, Draw A Blank gets back to the hazy drawing board, coming at us with a visually dense goldenrod opaqueness. Above a slight ivory stained froth hosts a strong bouquet of tropical fruit, citrus, stone fruit and sharp herbs. A strong ethanol twinge is buried in the scent while a rounded malt creaminess splashes the initial palate with caramel, honey and shortcake.

But the display of hops are all on the middle palate as the fruity, floral character blossoms with tangerine, red grapefruit and a kiss of lime. A bolder tropical medley follows up the citrus with mango, passionfruit, gooseberry and papaya. Rounded with a stone fruit presence of peach, apricot and light dates, the fruit cocktail is complete before diving into a sharp but moderate bitterness of fresh spruce, cedar and sun tea.

Full bodied but relaxed for its alcohol content, the beer hides its strength very well while striving for a malty-dry finish. A piquant vodka spice hits the back of the throat and highlights the hop bitterness just as the ale trends long and spicy in aftertaste with muddled curacao liquor and fruit peels taking charge.

 

The look ranks among the best of the best. It has nice fruity and citrusy notes. It has a solid, typical NEIPA taste, but the Triple DH definitely takes it to another level. Feel is smooth like some of the top TDH’ed IPA’s out there. Overall, something I could drink daily and enjoy on a nice, hot day in Vermont.

Abomination Brewing Co. "Drawing A Blank"
1 pint can contract brewed by Dorchester Brewing Co. in Boston, MA and coded "ABDAB1-BZ"
$5.49 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Wow, 11.1% alcohol by volume! I guess this is my last beer of the day then. It's labeled as a "triple dry hopped triple India pale ale". It's poured a muddy golden body beneath two fingers width of creamy off-white foam. The aroma is not as strong as you might think given that it's triple dry hopped but it's OK. It's resinous, earthy, citrusy, and piney. There's also a touch of peach and other tropical fruits (mango, apricot, pineapple) to it. On to the flavor... there's definitely some alcohol to it. It's also malty but not particularly sweet. There's a strong berry-like flavor to it, and that's wrapped in a sheet of alcohol. I was worried about that. It doesn't come off as "hot" or rough though so maybe it will work out in the end. I'm getting more of the peach now, which is nice, and some soft orange, although the berries remain. Actually, I think that's more of an apricot flavor. The more it warms the more it opens up, and yet the alcohol remains where it's at so that's a good thing. It's got enough bitterness that in conjunction with a light acidity, some "hop burn", and the alcohol it finishes dry, spicy, earthy, and piney. In the mouth it's pretty lush and smooth. Looking back, the head held quite well and there's some very nice lacing left behind. This is certainly an every now and again beer because of its strength but it's worth giving a try.
Review #6,953

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 9/2019. Pours very hazy deep golden amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and fluffy off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big pineapple, mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, biscuit, light honey/toast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge pineapple, mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, biscuit, light honey/toast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of pineapple, mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, biscuit, light honey/toast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/sticky, and fairly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 11.1% lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic NETIPA. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the huge ABV, with the mellowly bitter/resinous/drying finish. Awesome soft/silky feel, and not aggressive. Fantastic Galaxy, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria profile. Extremely juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a nice sized wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this beer. With the crazy label art I was expecting a little more but this one disappointed. No date on can. Pours a slightly hazy yellow-orange color with a little fluffy white head but no real lingering lacing. Smells of some mild grapefruit, lemon, pineapple and orange fruity hops. Also some malt, vanilla, bread and floral hops. Taste vaguely follows the nose. For some reason there was a very strong alcoholic astringency throughout. Not sure why it was like this and it almost reminded me of some grain alcohol. The malt and the hops were faded into the background. Mild, thin mouthfeel with decent carbonation. I don’t know how old this beer was but it just didn’t seem to sit right.

 

Pulled the trigger on a whim. Sometimes we guess wrong. Murky with no head. Sweet and boozy. Some good hop taste but the sweetness and booze just gets in the way. There are way better $21.00 4 packs.