Focal Banger
The Alchemist in Stowe, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - New England / Hazy Regular|
Score
7.97
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Crisp, clean malt character supporting copious additions of Citra and Mosaic hops.
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6/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 5.5
Flavor 5.5
Texture 7
Overall 6
Canned 473ml. -at the brewery. Golden coloured, medium sized off-white head, citrusy and light hay in the nose. Sweet malty, caramel, hay, notes of alcohol and rather bitter finish. Bad can or...
Tried
from Can
at
The Alchemist
on 19 Jun 2026
at 21:13
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 9
From Good Times Oakland, canned May 12th 2026.
Pours a hazy orange yellow with a finger of foam, retention and lacing are excellent.
The smell is big notes of pine, orange peel, tropical fruit, more pine, some sort of malt peeks through.
The taste is big pine, orange peel, grapefruit citrus, light tropical fruit. Swishing the beer in my mouth brings out some bread, perhaps, biscuit malt. Firmly bitter but lightly sweet.
Medium bodied, I would certainly drink this again.
Pours a hazy orange yellow with a finger of foam, retention and lacing are excellent.
The smell is big notes of pine, orange peel, tropical fruit, more pine, some sort of malt peeks through.
The taste is big pine, orange peel, grapefruit citrus, light tropical fruit. Swishing the beer in my mouth brings out some bread, perhaps, biscuit malt. Firmly bitter but lightly sweet.
Medium bodied, I would certainly drink this again.
Tried
from Can
from
Good Times Oakland
on 14 Jun 2026
at 12:47
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Can ordered from Elbow Cask & Craft, Hinckley. Hazy-opaque amber-orange. Thick fluffy foamy white head. Aroma has resin over canned stone fruit and chewy malts. Flavourwise it's bitter - full-on resin. Prickly gooseberry tart edge. Underlying restrained fruit attempts to buffer against the bitterness but doesn't manage to do so. Although there is more of a fruity tang alongside sourness into the finish. Light-medium bodied. Slick verging on oily. Soft-fizzy carbonation. Long dry astringent finish. Certainly hits the spot and refreshingly bitter. Addendum - I didn't rush thus one. As I drank on it got more fruity. Not overly fruity but more fruit.
Tried
from Can
at
Elbow Room Cask and Craft
on 11 May 2026
at 20:52
Finally tried this! From what I heard, its not what it used to be
Tried
on 12 Oct 2025
at 20:03
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Can. Opaque. Thick head. Some stone fruit hops, okay malts. Medium bitterness, stone fruit, pear, and some alcohol coming through as well. Decent balance. Today, it’s just another hazy.
Tried
from Can
at
Blind Tiger Ale House
on 27 Sep 2025
at 05:32
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 9
Texture 9
Overall 8.5
Appearance is hazy orange, with a small clingy white head. Aroma is lots of hops, stewed fruit, malt, orange, pithy fruit. Herbal notes, some dankness. Taste is resinous hops, herbal notes, bitter hops, malty background, orange peel, grapefruit juice, stewed fruity hops, pine, long lingering bitterness. Intensely bitter and hoppy. Standout.
Tried
on 03 Aug 2025
at 05:40
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Hazy orange colour and medium-sized white head and lace. Grapefruity, tropical fruity mild aroma. Medium-bodied. Grapefruity, a bit piney, some fruits, bitterness. Solid "American ipa".
Tried
from Can
at
The Alchemist
on 30 Jul 2025
at 08:45
9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
23 February 2025. Can from J&B Craft Drinks. Canned: 5/11/2024.
Hazy ochre, stable, small, foamy, white head. Aroma of ripe tangerine, grapefruit, sweat, onion, hashish, sweaty cheese, old orange juice, biscuit, pine resin. Taste has sweetish tangerine, melon & grape quickly turning towards bitter grapefruit & orange peel in a peanutty, biscuity malt body with hints of dank cheese & onion. Very bitter finish of piney & resinous hops, grapefruity, tonic-like almost, with herbal, green & dank edges. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Impressive stuff, juiciness contained in a raw profile. Well worth its price on the aforementioned webshop.
Hazy ochre, stable, small, foamy, white head. Aroma of ripe tangerine, grapefruit, sweat, onion, hashish, sweaty cheese, old orange juice, biscuit, pine resin. Taste has sweetish tangerine, melon & grape quickly turning towards bitter grapefruit & orange peel in a peanutty, biscuity malt body with hints of dank cheese & onion. Very bitter finish of piney & resinous hops, grapefruity, tonic-like almost, with herbal, green & dank edges. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Impressive stuff, juiciness contained in a raw profile. Well worth its price on the aforementioned webshop.
Tried
on 12 Jun 2025
at 13:03
9.1/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
Can from Mikkeller Webshop. Massively hoppy and juicy aroma with fruits, grass, citrus, tropical fruits, dank herbal-ish Mosaic, pineapple, some pine resin, grapefruit, bitter fruit peel. Flavour is light sweet with a firm and long bitter finish. Body is medium. Here's one who truly lives up to the hype, this is massively hoppy and crisp. Intense, a near flawless IPA.
Tried
from Can
on 08 Feb 2025
at 10:33
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Аромат хмелевой, умеренный, цитрусовый, много ноток от цветов, немного меда и дыни. Тело не такое мутное как у почти всех современных Нью ингландов, скажем на половину, пенка при этом стойкая, белая, пушистая. Вкус очень сбалансированный, снова дыня и нотки от цветов. При глотке уже цитрусы, немного сухости и горчинки травянисто цедровой. В целом хорошо, но сейчас ни как не удивляет.
Tried
on 07 Feb 2025
at 05:52