Hats off to Larry
Wachusett Larry
A- / 4.22
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A cellar temperature bottle is poured into tulip glass. The beer is a fine copper color with a few streams of carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass. The head is large, foam and varies in color from white at the top to egg shell tan at the bottom. A good amount of lace is left behind as I swirl the glass about.
Big pine hop aroma, with a touch of alcohol and crystaline sugar sweetness. Very appealing.
There is a big hop flavor to Larry, but not as big as many DIPAs. Bitterness is everywhere, but it isn’t sharp or very oily. There’s plenty of pink grapefruit without being acidic. Alcohol isn’t apparent, nor is there a lot of sugar.
The body of this beer is on the heavier side of medium, and carbonation is just slightly above average. All the tiny bubbles work well with the hops. A long lasting coat is barely felt; it’s more like lingering flavor. No stickiness on the lips makes this drinker happy.
This is a very good DIPA. Its too bad I had to drive to MA to get a bottle. If you find yourself within Wachusett’s distribution range, I suggest you get yourself a bottle.
And a couple other bonus reviews…
Pretty Things Jack D’or
A- / 4.05
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A recent purchase, I picked this up at Julio’s on July 3rd. It was bottled in May 2011 (batch 26). It is served at cellar temperature in my Smuttynose Big Beer Series tulip.
A nearly clear golden yellow liquid fills the glass. Atop it rests a small head of pure white foam. A good amount of tiny carbonation bubbles can be viewed within. Swirling the beer brings the head back and coats the walls with a god amount of film and foam.
The aroma on this beer reminds me a lot of a wit. There’s banana and clove, as well plenty of funky farmhouse yeast. It may not be the standard scent for this style, but I like it a lot.
There are a lot of complex flavors going on here. It starts out with Belgian candi sugar, but this is quickly eclipsed by some banana and grassy hops. The banana is even more prominent as I swallow. Crisp sweetness lingers on for a long time after the beer is gone.
The beer is a bit ticker and offers more coat than I expected; I think I’m a little disappointed actually. I prefer a crisper saison.
I like this beer. It is a bit heavy on the banana, but I don’t mind that. I would definitely drink this one again.
New England Brewing Co. Sea Hag IPA
B+ / 3.98
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A slightly chilled can is poured into a pint glass.
The beer is colored orange. It initially poured clear, but some yeast settlement came out at the very end, giving a hazy quality to the beer. Rising carbonation can still be seen rising within. The head is colored off-white and made up of medium to large bubbles.
Sea Hag has a nice hoppy aroma. It is warm and citrusy.
The beer has a fresh, sharp hop flavor with plenty of bitter oils. There is certainly plenty of grapefruit flavors, but also some pine. A bit of pale malt sweetness stands behind the hop bitterenss and eventually blends in by the time I swallow. More subtle bitter flavors linger.
Medium bodied with average carbonation. A bit of an oily coat remains after I swallow. All of the hops feel sharp on my tongue.
This is an enjoyable IPA. Since cans can get into places where bottles can’t, Sea Hag could be the right choice based on your planned activities. I don’t think I’d trade for this beer, but when I’m in MA again, I’d certainly pick up a few cans.
