Simcoe 25
Russian River Brewing Company

 

Growler poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours golden yellow with a frothy cream white head that settles to a firm layer and leaves a little nice lacing.

S: Citrus zest, tropical and stone fruit, resinous pine, grassy green lightly herbal notes, floral hints, biscuity slightly bready malt, and a touch of caramel sweetness.

T: Zesty citrus, grapefruit and a little lemon, resinous pine, green grassy slightly herbal notes, solid hit of tropical and stone fruit, passion fruit, peach, apricot, plus hints of pineapple and mango, floral hints, biscuity slightly bready malt, and a touch of caramel sweetness.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Row 2 Hill 56 is one of my all time favorites and the beer that made me truly fall in love with Simcoe hops. This feels like a slight amped up version in the best way. It's a fitting tribute to an amazing hop.
(My other half snagged this on her way back from a work trip and swears that the sample she had from the source was even better so given that it spent a little time in a growler between the tap and the glass, my score might be a little low.)

this makes me feel old, 25 years of simcoe already?! so iconic, so great, still one of the most recognizable and distinctive varietals for my money, and its cool to have a legendary brewery like this featuring it on this occasion, so glad to get to drink this one! a super light ipa, the new west coast, although this one also happens to still be bitter, which i will always like. really light blonde beer with an average white head on it and lots of carbonation. aroma and flavor are the essence of this fine varietal, white grapefruit flesh and pith and zest in the nose, and a little more woodsy character to the flavor, especially late, pine and juniper, christmas tree, sap, that sort of thing, dank without really being weedy, oily without being heavy, fresh as can be, potent, and with some late onset bitterness that really pops in such a dry finishing beer, awesome! accent notes of zested lemon, cooked orange, lemongrass, and even a floral jasmine note or something, really pretty neat expression of simcoe, it can be pungent and bruising but also delicate and layered and i think this beer showcases both of those personalities pretty effectively, real quick finishing with a bright fresh hoppy recall, perfect dosing and intensity for the hops in this, really simple grain base behind it, minimal body but overall not at all unbalanced, and tidy all the way. gorgeous beer, a perfect tribute to this hop, i wish i had a fridge full of this, pretty close to zero diminishing marginal utility here, so good!