Joint Custody

Fresh Cut and Joint Custody, tasted side by side in 4 oz. glasses.

Beer #1 - Looks pale yellow with fine white head. Smells of citrus, mostly grapefruit and orange. A bit of malt sweetness as well. Taste is hoppy, then bitter. Actually quite bitter on the finish. There is some smokiness underneath the citrus but it comes and goes. Letting the beer linger on the tongue gives an unpleasant bitter sensation. Taking a break to smell this one again gives some level of a medicinal under what was the sweet smell that I got on first blush. Would not say it goes as far as bandaids but I do consider it "off." I do get some juice flavor but am hard pressed to pick which fruit it would be like. Too sweet for grapefruit but ultimately the bitterness kills it off so the point is moot. For a pilsner the smoke, harsh bitterness and medicinal notes are not what I expect or desire.

Beer #2 - Looks exactly the same as beer #1. Makes me think the person who poured them for me is putting the same beer in both glasses to mess me up. Anyway, this one smells of bitter citrus, pith, and a little bit of pine too. Taste is sharp, more of the same citrus as in the smell. Bitterness comes in and out but does not overwhelm. Finish is very clean. Further along, the taste goes grassy and maybe just a bit herbal. The malt feels pretty light. A crisp feeling beer with a good dose of hops.

Beer # 1 was Joint Custody and beer #2 was Fresh Cut. Guess that's not a surprise. JC smelled much more juicy and appealing at first. Even after I finished the samples I smelled the JC remaining in the can and still got the citrus and bit of sweetness. But pouring some more in the glass led back to that intermittent smoke and nasty bitterness. I've got one more can of JC and sometime in the next few weeks I'll try it. Hope it goes better than this one did.