Outcast Brewing Neon Dreams American Pale Ale at 6.0% ABV | 30 IBU (C$4.37 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Jul-2017, best before 10-Sep-2017, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 4-Aug-2017)
Appearance: opaque medium gold with one fat finger of loose off-white head diminishing rapidly to a thin ring, minimal lacing. (2/5) Aroma: big pine and spruce, tropical fruit, flaked oat, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, lively to moderate carbonation, off-dry medium bitter finish. (4/5)
Not quite the orange juice / creamsicle appearance I associate with the NE style, but instead tending slightly muddled and unclean. Also, retention and lacing are basically non-existent, so the appearance really needs work. The aroma is dominated by huge pine and spruce, instead of the fruit and citrus I associate with the style. Don’t get me wrong: there are some tropical fruit and citrus notes there, but they’re faint and late to arrive. The label doesn’t specify what varietal of powdered lupulin is being used for the dry-hopping, but I’m not really sure it’s working for this style.
I know it sounds like I’m being a bit harsh with the new guy here, but there are some improvements that could really ratchet this beer up in a big way. On the up side, the bitterness is reasonably restrained despite the big hop aromas, with dry-hopping working well there. And the label is exactly what I’ve been ranting for, for ages: in addition to ABV and IBU, it’s got canned on and best-by dating. Well done! Now, go fix the appearance and the aroma, and make me even happier. (13/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
