Thin Man: Jar Of Green (USA: IPA: 7% ABV)
Visual: Yellow to cloudy peach skin coloured main body. Massive yellow white loose bubbled head that leaves suds.
Nose: Clean. Good fluffy hop feel and some hop bitterness. Peach. Pineapple. Vanilla custard.
Body: Thick. Oily bitterness. Greenery. Just below acrid level hop character. Soft charring. Brown bread. Heavy feeling. Smoke and sulfur.
Finish: Lots of greenery. Smoke. High hop bitterness. Sulphur. Peppery.
Conclusion: Ok, this does what it says on the tin. This is very green, be it in actual greenery notes, or smoke and sulfur notes. By smoke and sulfur notes, I am assuming from the name and nature of this beer that this is made with fresh, wet green hops, which gives it a vegetable character and those aforementioned sulfur characteristics. It makes it quite a brutal beer for drinking.
Oddly, on doing a google search I found this beer listed as a NEIPA multiple times, which led to me asking two questions. 1) How the fuck do I find a non NEIPA IPA these days? And 2) What does NEIPA even mean now? Does it just mean hazy? As it matches exactly zero other expected characteristics for a NEIPA for me. I’m enjoying it for one.
However, while I am enjoying it – it is very one note. The aroma possesses some fruit notes, yes, but that ain’t what you get once you start sipping. It is all heavy, dark, dank hops – all charring, greenery, smoke and bitterness all the time. As a burst of a beer I like it, but it could get old very fast.
The malt does try to show some sweetness, but it rarely comes up, instead showing itself mainly in the very thick mouthfeel.
Not one I would recommend as a general drinking beer, but it is an utter blunt burst of green hops. As I say, it does what it says on the tun.
I’m fairly sure you know from that if you will enjoy it or not.
Background: Another one grabbed from Independent Spirit’s new batch of USA beers from breweries I had not tried before. Another one that unexpectedly turned out to be hazy. There seriously needs to be a law that this stuff needs to be listed on the can! Ok not that seriously. Also I am fairly sure when it says pint it means tiny USA pint. I miss my extra 95ml. Anyway, went with The Germs: MIA The Complete Germs as backing music. Early smart punk which I have a soft spot for but hadn’t revisited for a while. Not much else to add. Too warm. Fuck Covid-19.
