The Substance Ale

16 ounce can. Hazy pale gold color. Large dense white head. Sharp citrus hop aroma. Herbal, minerally notes. Dank citrus flavor rover a biscuit malt base. Notes of green onion and pine. A touch of lime zest finish.

Very hazy golden and straw coloured body with a deep, thick, three to four centimetre tall pure white head that stays afloat nicely. Aroma of grass, citrus, hay and a ton of cleanser-like bitterness from the hops with some nice malts and a dash of flowers and grain noticeable, all with a very mild sweetness coming out as well. Medium-bodied; Very strong and pungent dry hoppy notes come through with a deep fresh-cut grass and herbal element and a grapefruity and lemony kick and a tiny bit of sweetness towards the finish. Aftertaste shows the grassy and dry characteristics with a lot of bitterness from the grapefruit, floral and grassy notes, but also some supportive malts and grain towards the end, but again, without any sweetness at all. Overall, a nice unfiltered IPA that has a great look and a super dry, grassy, perfumey and floral bite with a lot of bitterness, but this is very far removed from a typical New England IPA (despite it being from Maine of course) in terms of the profile and hop aspects that make this enjoyable, but not akin to the style. Nice to sample and a worthy beer, but not something that everyone needs to go out and try to find. I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from the Department of Beer and Wine in Alexandria, Virginia on 19-June-2020 for US$4,67 sampled at my house on the nineteenth anniversary of September 11th, here a few feet from the Pentagon, on 11-September-2020.

Hazy gold pour. With thin foam. Grapefruit nose. Grapefruit flavor with a hint of vanilla and nutmeg. Medium carbonation

Grapefruit and orange nose. Hazy golden, thick sticky head. Grapefruit, lilly. Medium body, easy carbonation.

$3.80 pint can, WW. Hazy gold with a large, soft white head. Citrus in the nose: orange and grapefruit mostly. Flavor is orange peel, orange juice, light floral hops, light green grasses. Good flavor.

16oz (thx, Alex M.!) @home. Appearance: hay golden with a white head. Aroma: tropical fruits with some vanilla notes. Taste: along the same lines with some dusty and grassy notes and piney bitterness. Overall: pretty good.