8.2

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Canned Jun 27, 2024, drunk Jul 21, 2024. Heavily hazy, bordering turbid. Golden-maize-brass. Medium-sized, white head, lower retention. That vanilla gets me every time and, I suppose, it's hard to be unbiased. So soft, rich, not even that spicy, but just savory, rich, and full of vanilla. Passion fruit as an afterthought, hops even more so than that. But the malt shows plentiful biscuit and balances just fine. Clean, fruity, rich. I do see what Bookman is writing about; the bitterness here is high, but I guess the vanilla just soothes everything over and the malts seem deep enough, though quite dry, to balance. Lower, juicy, citrusy hops. I feel very differently about potential lactose addition here (wouldn't want it to disrupt the flavor), but I really appreciate Bookman's thoughtful estimation of what he wants out of the beer, not just a boring list of what its tasting notes are. It does have a bit of an excess of bitterness from the vanilla and fruit here. But still comes off creamy enough to me.

8

Juicy fruits with vanilla.

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Pours a hazy, dark golden yellow, with mid-sized, lasting head. Aroma is tropical fruit, some citrus, a touch of vanilla. Vanilla is much stronger in the flavor, along with tropical fruit and a touch of citrus. Soft, smooth mouthfeel. Moderate hop bitterness in the finish. I can't help but feel that these fruit-forward beers could be helped with a touch of lactose to smooth out the bitterness and this is yet another where that is the case.