Flow Switch (Simcoe, Cascade, Equinox Lupulin)
Kettlehead Brewing Company in Tilton, New Hampshire, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Imperial / Double Regular|
Score
7.21
|
|
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Can pour from trade with Johnnnniee via The Packie--thanks, John! It's an opaque light brown-dark yellow with lots of sparkle at the edges of the glass, finger-width white frothy-foam head with fair retention and decent rings of lacing. Aroma is moderately strong mix of citrus, melon, nondescript fruit, smidge of pine. Taste is a stronger version of the aroma without the melon. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium bodied with smooth, thin texture, soft carbonation, no hint of alcohol, and finish as taste with lingering yeast and moderate dry bitterness. Overall, I can certainly recognize the hop mix here. Not overly complex and it's sort of nondescript but pretty good.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Got in a BIF from TheDoctor. 16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 9/2018. Pours very hazy deep golden amber/light orange color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, green pepper, light pine, wheat, white bread dough, light honey, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, green pepper, light pine, wheat, white bread dough, light honey, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Very mild pine, zesty, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, green pepper, pine, wheat, white bread dough, light honey, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and bready malt flavors; with a solid malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 8% after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic NE DIPA! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Amazingly soft feel. Extremely juicy, and lightly dank/earthy hop complexity; perfect wheat/oat/malt balance, not overly sweet from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example. Loved the Simcoe/Cascade/Equinox hop profile as expected.