Made a trip up to the brewery in Stowe last weekend, finally got my hands on these infamous brews. One thing I want to try here, is a comparison of vessels for the beer. The Alchemist insists you drink their IPAs from the can, and it says so right on the label. John Kimmich, head of The Alchemist brewery, explains “All that carbonation is coming out, the CO2 is escaping, the aroma, the hop essence, and oils. When you drink it out of the can, the beer is perfectly preserved. There’s a layer of CO2 riding through that can, and when you pour the beer into an empty glass, you’re immediately accelerating the expulsion of all that goodness.” So without further ado, my dual review.
From the can:
Can’t speak to clarity or head retention, as it’s in a can; smell is tropical citrus and hops, notes of mango and pineapple, surprisingly sweet aroma. Taste is lightly sweet and crisp, with a subtle tropical juiciness underneath and a full mouthfeel. This is almost instantly dominated by a crushing hop flavor that leads into the finish, juicy citrus flavor at first, with a transition to a heavy pine resin character and a fairly high bitterness that stays on the tongue long after the beer is gone.
From my new Alchemist branded Spiegelau IPA glass, which they sell at the brewery (pictured above):
Very hazy, with chunks of particulate floating around, according to the can, these are “hop resins” and are to be expected; head retention is minimal. The beer smells of the same tropical fruits, but with less intensity and sweetness, and additional notes of pine and soft bready malts can be picked up. The taste is just as juicy, and perhaps slightly sweeter, with more time to pick out the individual fruit and biscuity malt flavors before the hops kick in; mouthfeel is the same. The finish is also more mellow in the glass, still features that transition from citrus to pine, but with a more subdued bitterness.
Overall, this is a solid New England style IPA, super juicy, super fruity, and each of those helps to balance out the high IBUs. Out of a can or out of a glass, this beer offers two similar, but unique drinking experiences. Personally, I prefer the glass: you can put your nose down in the glass and sense a more complex aroma; the liquid is more evenly delivered to the tongue, resulting in a more balanced flavor. You can say the visible sediment is a reason not to use a glass, but in a can it’s still there, not harming the flavors at all. Is this brewery worth all the hype and effort to obtain it’s beer? Well, it was a fun trip, and this is a great IPA, but I’ll have to try more of their offerings to say for sure; stay tuned!
As a bonus, here’s a picture of me inside the Focal Banger logo!
