Blood Brothers TDWDTG Hazy IIPA.

I really want to say “it pours”. This beer has an amazing head. I’m actually surprised at first that the alcohol didn’t kill it right away, but I learned why shortly after.

It pours like a glass of Dijon. There, I said it. This is not an mortal negative by the way. It comes by it honestly. It’s not my favourite visual for a hazy IPA, but that’s like saying yellow isn’t my favourite colour for No Frills ads. It’s just how it goes. Nevertheless, this is a very hazy beer.

The nose here is peaches and mangoes. This tracks considering how they hopped it. Clayton freestyle Peacharine hop kief & Experimental Hop CIP 076. A hop kief is a solventless extraction, or at least the end product is solventless. It’s like a liquid hop in which is contained only the aromatic oils and resins. More fruit, less vegetable. There is an underlying tropical quality that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I couldn’t find much information on the thiol potential of these products but the typical New Zealand dankness is pretty subtle, and probably just serves to boost and round out the peach and mango.

The malt is neutral and a tiny bit sweet. Likely a function of lower bitterness. Alcohol, despite dialing in at 8%, is nulled by the hops while the beer is cold. Some perfume and presence do creep up later on, but remain rather subtle. There is a bit of hop burn here. Nothing untoward, but there is some grit in the throat. It’s been a long time since I have experienced this and it was a tad surprising. This somewhat explains the head.

The flavour is a carry on from the aroma. Peach, mango, neutral malt, creeping perfumy alcohol, and “tropical” undertones.

The finish was extremely short. The malt sweetness vanishes, leaving a bitterness that’s sort of like a tightness on the tongue. As it loosens, a bit of citrus comes in and then the entire cast just evaporates.