River Shark 2: Shark Harder
River's Edge Brewing Company in Milford Charter Township, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
IPA Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.12
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Sequels always try to go bigger and better, and usually never quite live up to the first one. Well, we’re happy to say we’ve not just dodged the Sequel Curse, we’ve annihilated it. Shark Harder is bigger, bolder, hoppier and more flavorful than the original: made with 7 hop varieties, it has a pleasant copper color yet bites with an assertive bitterness. How can the same thing happen to the same beer twice? Well, it didn’t: flavors of tangerine, lemon, pine and papaya make this more of a Godfather 2 than a Highlander 2. Yippee ki yay, Milford drinkers!
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8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
16 ounce prowler into tulip glass, filled on 2/10/2019. Pours fairly crystal clear medium orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and dark/bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/sticky, and fairly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.6%. Overall this is an awesome IPA! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the modestely bitter/resinous/drying finish; not aggressive. Feels like Columbus, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo, Citra, Simcoe. Very juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a great balancing dark/bready malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and spot on Midwest style example.
Tried
on 27 Feb 2019
at 04:18