Into The Woods
Connecticut Valley Brewing

After HopMan, this might be my fave from this brewer. Very solid and enjoyable neipa. But HopMan was just the bomb. Unfortunately have never seen either of the two great brews around shops ever again.

Underrated brew IMO, I'm drinking this one not so fresh, and it's bursting with mosaic goodness, silky feel, excellent head retention and lacing. Would love to see this on a shelf a week after canning. Winner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hazy golden amber beer pours out into a Duvel glass with a 1/2” foamy white head that slowly recedes to become a cap and then a thin irregular island of foam on the liquid while leaving an irregular pattern of patches, strands and legs of lacing on the sides of the glass. Sipping creates a couple of arches and some scattered small patches of lacing.

The aromas are first noticeable when the can is opened and include lots of tropical fruits with some melon, papaya and some grapefruit zest. There are some light hints of pine in the background along with some light biscuity malt.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose with the melon, papaya and grapefruit zest up front and backed up by a touch of pine, some malt sweetness and some very light bitterness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and fairly smooth with just a hint of a slight crispness from the moderately active finely bubbled carbonation. The finish begins with the fading of the fruit flavors and then the pine and grapefruit zest which leave behind a semi-dry slowly fading light bitterness to end the show.

Overall this seems to be a pretty nice example of the “juicy NEIPA” that is easy to drink, has lots of tropical fruit, some citrus and is definitely enjoyable and everything fits together nicely. The aroma/flavor profile is fairly complex, very well balanced and I think I’ll probably be trying this one again sometime. But that said, it isn’t really a candidate to become a regular in my rotation.

 

 

A: Pours a murky pale to medium golden yellow in color with moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising quickly along the edges of the glass and moderate medium yellow + burnt orange colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense sudsy foamy white head that slowly reduces to a large patch of slightly mottled thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of juicy tropical/cantaloupe, tropical/papaya, citrus/orange, and citrus/tangerine hops with hints of pine hops over the top of light to moderate aromas of biscuit + caramel malts with a light amount of caramel sweetness.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of biscuit + caramel malts with a light amount of caramel sweetness. That is followed by slightly stronger than moderate flavors of juicy tropical/cantaloupe, tropical/papaya, citrus/orange, and citrus/tangerine hops with light flavors of pine hops which contribute a light to moderate amount of bitterness which fades away quickly leaving lingering citrus + tropical + pine hop flavors.

M: Just shy of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly crisp upfront with a hint of fluffiness mid-body and hints of dryness in the finish.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a pleasantly soft, crisp, and dry mouthfeel. Enjoyable with a very nice combination of hop flavors and aromas which remind me of a combination of West Coast and NE IPAs. Really glad @metter98 brought this one for me to check out.

 

Multiple times drinking Into The Woods.. its time for a review.
I've always liked ITW. I seek it out whenever I go to PA to pick up some beer.
S: Fresh and aromatic with fruit and tropical aroma's, there is a very subtle comfort factor for me with ITW.
T: Mostly with tropical overtones.. with a slight fruitiness that blends in very well. Very little bitterness.
F: Medium, smooth, creamy with a little carbonation.
O: One of my favorite comfort beers. If it's available when I go to PA, they come home with me.. no matter what else is in
the cart.