Slide Tackle
Pelican Brewing Company

Hazy and off orange color with a 2-finger head and some lacing. It has a nice light malt taste and citrus hop, almost an orange zest taste, with some grapefruit. There was a slight sweetness and bitterness combined to give a very nice finish. Rated 7-12-2022

 

 

 

pelican has a fair few hazy types now, and this one didnt set itself apart for me, although it was mighty fresh on tap at the new brewery they build on siletz bay, stunning facility. this is rather dense looking as they go, looks like a whole lot of beer in the pint glass, short white head on top of thick pale orange body, starchy looking but no visible particulate or anything, its not sloppy its just full. the aroma is a mix of new school fruity and tropical elements but also northwestern intensity and even spiciness, a neat combination, kind of hits full spectrum to me, a little sweetness from the grain softening the hops a little bit, balanced may be another way to say that. the flavor is big, there is a lot going on here, mango and papaya fruitiness up front, some sweet orange too, mandarins from the can, then some pine and dankness, a waft of passion fruit through here too later on, but also a little yeastiness which seems out of place and enough residual sweetness to give this a slightly heavy feel, even though its soft, not as refined as their best ipa types, even the hazy ones. there is a little green linger to this, not a burn, but some staying power, and even though the carbonation is good and the flavors beg to be drank, its a one and done type of brew for me. relatively distinctive in a samey space, but a couple of tweaks away from hitting its full stride in my opinion...

 

 

This one really surprised me! I'm not a huge fan of Pelican beers - they are good - but often not on par with Oregon's top beers (which are some of the best beers in the country). I gave this one a shot at the Pacific City brewery and was very pleasantly surprised. Got some cans to go, and it translates to cans also - even about a month old! Really delicious hazy - in a crowded field of not-so-good NE style IPAs, this one stands out - even on par with some of Fort George and Ruse beers, even if not quite approaching Great Notion levels of hazy goodness. Stoked to find this one again. Very crushable and delicious, balanced hazy IPA.

12oz can, canned a month and a half ago

Pours a finger of white head into my can-style glass. Retention is very nice, hardly losing any head after a few minutes. Initial lacing looks solid as well. Body is a hazy orange, with quite a lot of bubbles coming up. Looks very nice so far.

Nose has a little bit of dankness, which leads way to a big tropical bouquet, notably passionfruit, and some mango. This is mixed with some underlying stone fruit, strawberries; a citrus edge accompanies as well. Despite the citrus, this smells pretty soft and inviting. Seems pretty nice for a mid-major attempt at a hazy, it’s not doing too much, nor is it trying to, and it’s nice regardless.

Flavor is a complete 180. Not much in the way of mango or any common tropical notes like that, citrus is present, but not dominant, some dankness comes in for a second, passionfruit hits pretty heavy in the finish. This is very peculiar, it just doesn’t have any umph to it, it’s extremely vanilla. Not bad, but odd, and there is a little to be desired.

Mouthfeel is a huge part of the issue here, this is getting very close to the flat side. It’s not often I say that, but I think this would qualify. Body is medium-light. Maybe the smallest sweetness, but not much there, not really dry either, a medium bitterness takes most of the attention in that area. Not a horrible mouthfeel, but it certainly drives this somewhat bland narrative.

Drinkability is pretty decent. Citrus astringency is not really present and therefore not a factor, you might get a small tinge here and there. Bitterness would be the only real notable roadblock, but it’s pretty palatable, and I’d have a hard time complaining about a hazy actually having IBU’s.

Appearance was wonderful. Lacing was thick sheets and the head lasted in a small fashion till the very end.

It’s possible that this just isn’t my favorite hop variety, a little bit too much delicate fruit, and not enough power. Regardless, the mouthfeel is an issue. Overall not bad, just not my fave.

Hazy pale gold with two fingers of white head. Splotches of lace appear as the head drops.
Smell is fruity hops with bread crust malts.
Taste is fruity hops with bready malts.
Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation. The finish is mildly dry and balanced.
Overall an easy drinking hazy IPA. Date 04-08-21.