CB's White Hop
CB Craft Brewers

Had on tap at Mammoser's in Hamburg.Came a hazy lighter lemon yellow with a sticky white head atop.Aromas of yeasty phenols and piney hops.Strong pine resin flavors with some lemon oils almost to the point of artificial cleaner flavors after awhile.I like CB's beers for the most part,this was a little off for me.

 

 

On tap at CB's then taken home in a half growler.

Pours a very hazy, cloudy golden yellow. 1 inch of fluffy foam, tons of lacing throughout the session.

Smells include lemon, oranges, pineapples, bubble gum, grass, and flowers.

The tastes is pretty much the same. Tons of emphasis on lemons and oranges. Just wildly juicy and sticky. Some strong Belgian yeast flavors as well.

Very drinkable, well carbonated, light body.

A fairly decent hoppy offering here.

 

 

This beer was served on draft at Tap and Mallet in Rochester, NY. It arrived in a stemmed chalice glowing a yellowed apple cider coloring. It held a one and a half finger head of pillowy white foam, showing great retention. Speckled sheets of lacing were left around the glass as it eventually dissipated into a cheesecloth film across the top of the liquid. Impenetrable haze was noted, but without sediment. Carbonation appeared to be moderate. The aroma was wildly fresh and beautiful, with lemony citric hops. These glided over a base of pale malty toast, wheaty grit, orange zest, sweet bubblegum esters, and a juicy, metallic Belgian yeastiness. With warmth came a brighter floral note to the hops, along with black pepper and nectarine syrups. Our first impression was that this beer was super flavorful despite its lightness and low abv, while the grain gave a surprising wheaty wash to the final balance. As we sipped, watery pale malts, banana ester sweetness, powdered clove bitters, black pepper, toasty Belgian pales, big bittering bite of lemon rind, and floral and nectary hop sweetness started things off. Moving to the peak was soured mineral bite, floury pale grain, dried straw, lightly citric and earthy hops, and honey sugars. The ending wash came with bittered drying grain, brightly citric and soapy hop bitters, orange rind, fresh cotton, and green stick and bark. The aftertaste breathed of bittered lemon rind, earthy and floral hop bite, orange flesh sweetness, clovey phenols, magic marker chemically bitterness, nutmeg and black pepper, gravel, dust, and white flour. The body was light, and the carbonation was medium to high, but with big prickle to the soft palate. Each sip gave okay cream and froth due to the well-retained head, but with only decent smack, slurp, and finishing pop. The mouth was greeted with crisp dryness, bittered pucker, and floury astringency, without any real coating to speak of. The abv was easy, and the beer was appropriately easy glugging.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was its fresh hop aroma. It was sticky, powerful, and beautifully refreshing, making the beer largely inviting from the start. The flavoring showed these flavors diminish a bit, as we were hoping for a bit more toast to the pale malts, and a bit more syrupy sweetness to the hops for that firm balance that they struck in the nose. Things did also lighten up and water through a bit by the end, leaving that simple malt and hop bitterness, without any of the Belgian IPA spice, grit, or depth. Otherwise this beer demonstrated a nice blending of styles through the flavoring, with a big wheaty wetness cutting through the toasty Belgians, all while delivering a hyperfresh injection of hoppy goodness through the core. This was nice and refreshing, highly seasonally appropriate offering from CB’s, and certainly one of their best in quite some time.