Saranac Hoppy Hour Hero Moe.saic IPA
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery

 

 

 

No obvious dating , but O 963 06145 on the bottom of the can. Single can found in the singles racks of the grocery store I most frequent. Never previously noticed this at any point, either stand-alone or in a mixed pack. Wonder where it came from?
Anyway....

Moderately hazy brassy-gold, with one finger of yellowy-ivory head.

Smell is pine, slight bitter orange, and butterscotch minus the sweetness. Getting a brief bit of melon rind when face goes to glass, just before every sip.

Taste is pine, grass, bitter orange rind .

Feel is medium, with a flash of barely-syrupy feel near finish. Moderate, very fine, sharp carbonation bite.

Overall, this had potential, but doesn't quite get there. (In fact, a burp an instant ago, was better than its 1st trip on the way down. :P ) ) It may be age [C'mon, Matt's - put some intelligible dating on your beers! PLease!?] , but given my experience with their IPAs, I can't be sure of that. I'd like to try this when I know it's fresh.

 

 

Was up at my family's place on the St Lawrence River and grabbed some goodies on the drive up, including this. We have always loved Saranac products, so I was expecting a lot out of this. Boy, oh boy it did not disappoint. I grabbed a can and a kayak to get the hell away from my family and enjoyed this fantastically crafted mosaic IPA in total peace. The pine pleasure notes dazel the tongue, while the 7.8% ABV made the calming kayak trip all the more enjoyable. A very dynamic beer that I wish was available back in Boston, but I will be looking forward to grabbing a pack next summer.

 

 

 

I have only found this at our local Hannaford supermarket. It is an excellent IPA. I like it far better than Saranac’s Legacy IPA.

One more bottle for this Happy Hour Hero!

 

 

i am blessed to have friends all over the country who save me beers to try when we get together if they find something they like, its always a treat to share something new and exciting when catching up with the boys, but the flip side of that is sometimes things get saved a little long, this one was bottled over the summer, and im not sure its held up great, no surprise given the style, but still a worthwhile beer and a cool one to try. the best parts of the mosaic seem faded off in the nose to me, the dry hop profile probably less robust than it was brand new, but it sort of devolves here into something pretty familiar from saranac, which is a relatively malty, and fairly bitter ipa, that really is what i know them for in these styles, and this one follows that trajectory, at least at this point of its life. its still quite obviously mosaic forward which is cool. more oily and bitter than i am used to from these hops, and the texture is a little aggressive, especially when it comes up to temperature a little bit. the balance of the malt is just fine, it doesnt crowd out the hops at all, and the bit of sweetness thats here i think extends this and beefs it up in a good way, i am not being critical of that here, even if its kind of what these guys always do. its not anything super interesting to me, but it checks the boxes for the style well enough. i will make a point to try this one fresher next time i get the chance, i have a feeling i missed the best of it.

edit: and another seven months in the fridge didnt do it any favors. i hate when beer gets forgotten about and then not consumed in its prime, but thats what has happened here unfortunately...