 beermatrix (1497), Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA
Oct 24, 2007
On-tap at the brewpub: Bright, clear, medium pale gold color. Starchy tight white foam on top reaching finger high height lasts well before setting as a light skim and collar. All sorts of weird lacing patterns that looks like thick cob webby stuff.
Bold citrusy nose with a slender pine resin undertow. Thoughts of grapefruit, lime, and lemon are present with the freshness of crisp morning air.
Mmm...hops all over the place. Crunchy, bright, fresh, brittle, and bold. Tons of raw citrusy action of juices, pith, and peel balanced slightly with a bit of toasted tender sweetness and piney resin oils.
Quite snappy and yummy with a wonderfully pleasant bitterness thats handled well and lasts forever and a day. A fun tingling dance of hops that brings lemon and grapefruit around and around and around again with lots of buzz, zing, and snap.
Feel is quite big and bright with a snappy crunchyness and wonderful crisp notion of tangy hop citric juices and floating pine ascents. Big finish of clean inviting bitterness of pine and citrusy things.
Beware; the tongue will need a break from time to time, but man this stuff is tasty fresh and very impressionable. If you like’a da hops, then you gonna like’a dis beer!
hellomynameis (743), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Oct 25, 2007 This has a huge hop nose. This also has a whole helluva lot os abrasive hops. Last year was grea, this year is just too much.
Hoppybudda (2), USA
does not count  Oct 19, 2007 Orangish amber in color, pillowy, web-y off white head that left some awesome lacing. Pungent, stinging hop aroma, packed with citrus flavors of ornage, grapefruit, and tangerine, as well as some apricot and mango, and ofcourse plenty of pine resin. Through all of this, believe it or not, there is a bit of toasty malt detectable that provides a voice of reason through all of this insanity.
The taste has a sharp bitter edge to it, but its amazing how the hop flavors readily unlock, bitter orange and grapefruit rinds. Again, a touch of the that toasted malt does show up, but whos kidding who here.
Overall: you can’t really call a fresh hop ale balanced, but compared to last years from Town Hall, I felt like this one was a bit more palatable. Last years seemed a bit too piney, and taste bud stripping when it was first released, while this years had more citrus right in your face, and the malt was atleast decectable. I will leave you with the last line from my hand written notes.
mmm.
MIBRomeo (1883), Wisconsin, USA
Oct 3, 2007 Light amber color full fluffy rocky head w/ thick lacing. Huge fresh floral & citrus hop aroma some light fruits & a hint of carmel. Oily well coated palate. Nicely bitter flavor piney resious hops dominate some citrus and a touch of carmel. A bit to 1 dimmensional.
undsioux7 (478), Cologne, Minnesota, USA
Oct 2, 2007 On tap. Fresh and clean tasting, very bitter hop bomb, but just missing some of the flavor to along with it. Its hiding in there, but the bitterness won’t let it out.
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