Let me start by welcoming this brew from Encinitas, California, and provide a disclaimer on this and the upcoming RationAle Brewing reviews. As a newer brewery, they have gone through some changes in their naming and recipe variations. I am drinking a style that has since changed its name and maybe its recipe, so I will try the newer version soon and report back on that, too. It’s similar to Athletic Brewing changing their Double IPA to their Hazy IPA. It’s still called Free Wave, but it’s a different name and arguably a different recipe. Let’s travel to the West Coast together and crack a can of crazy.
This week, we are drinking Citrus Hazy IPA by RationAle Brewing. With Hazy IPA, and there is a lot in the NA space, we expect exactly what the name implies: haziness. We want a thick, cloudy IPA with fruit-forward notes and a smack of hops to hank it down your gullet hole. The citrus makes me think that the fruity flavor we’re getting will be of that variety. The only thing the can has is mountains on it, not oranges, so who knows.
How Does It Smell? How Does It Pour?
When I first crack the can of cool concoctions, I get a surprising and unexpected smell permeating my nasal cilia. It’s a malty scent with a hint of sour. I know sour is a flavor, but I describe the scent as sour. Not like milk, but more like lemon sour. Oh, right, citrus. RationAle Brewing strikes again with their titled common sense. Thankfully, the surprises end there because I get that beautiful cloudy beer when I pour. The color is a little lighter in the yellow Pantone than I would like in a hazy IPA, but I’ll chalk that up to the fact it’s an NA beer and a citrus-based one, at that.
How Does It Taste?
When I finally brought this new brew to my chew chute, I found the full understanding of why RationAle Brewing put the word ‘citrus’ in the front of their beer. The immediate and somewhat overpowering notes of lemon and orange peel confuse me as to why this is listed as an IPA at all. There are complements of malt and barley, but hops moved out of this house before I arrived. Not the worst, but not an IPA.
Untappd gives Citrus Hazy IPA by RationAle Brewing a 3.4 out of 5. It should be noted, though, that it is only listed as their new Hazy IPA, even though user pictures show both versions. I would throw this below a three at a 2.9, but primarily because it has no hoppiness, yet the label says IPA. I am keeping an open mind and an open mouth as I venture further down the rabbit hole of RationAle Brewing.
HAPPY EVERY HOUR: Explore the many options of beers and ciders without the side effects of alcohol. With so many de-alcoholized beers on the market, we’ll organize our reviews by style. Here you’ll also find non-alcoholic or alcohol-free ciders as well as those beverages classified as hop water.
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