Telstar VII

Creamed corn and pine smell. Clear golden, medium head. Creamed corn and grass, subtle apricot. Medium body, easy carbonation.

Very hazy golden, raw honey coloured body with a very thin, single centimetre tall tan head that fades fast to just about nothing. Aroma of honey, dry grain, grapefruit, resin, flowers, a bit of grassy bitterness and a lot of astringent alcohol notes - way stronger smelling than 8,2 per cent. Medium-bodied; Super strong alcohol notes and bitterness that show grainy malt, yeast, dry floral and hay flavours, a dash of very peppery, spicey hop notes that ends in a light kick of grapefruit, but the alcohol warmth and astringency is overpowering. Aftertaste is super pungent, with the dry grass and floral notes still around, but no sugars, no fruit, just pepper, light resin and a ton of super astringent and pungent hops and alcohol flavours. Overall, perhaps one of my least favourite Imperial-ish IPAs ever that at 8,2 per cent, barely qualifies for the style, but with no complexity and just a flavour/feel of a 10+ per center abv bite, this is just plain bad. Do not grab this one, unless you enjoy alcohol burning in the mouth. I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from the Department of Beer and Wine in Alexandria, Virginia on 12-June-2020 for US$6,29 sampled at my house here in Washington on the best of all days - 04-July-2020, Independence Day, after watching the fireworks over our nation's capital at the end of my street with my wife and three kids.