8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

12 ounce can into pint glass; no can dating, but was just released. Pours lightly hazy pale golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, honeydew melon, red apple, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn/pine, cracker, corn, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/earthy hops, pale malt/maize, and light-moderate fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, honeydew melon, red apple, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn, pine, cracker, corn, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, honeydew melon, red apple, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, corn, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/earthy hops, pale malt/maize, and light-moderate fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no astringent hop flavors after the finish. Very clean on lager flavors, not overly yeasty. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp, bready/grainy/sticky, and fairly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 4.5%. Overall this is an excellent hoppy cream ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/earthy hops, pale malt/maize, and light-moderate fruity yeast flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink with the modestly bitter/drying finish, not aggressive. Very flavorful and not watery for the ABV. Feels like Centennial, Columbus, Amarillo. Very juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hop complexity; with a great clean pale malt/maize backbone, and restrained fruity yeast notes. A very enjoyable offering. Very impressive, still stays true to style, not overly hoppy/bitter.