Fair Weather Friend Je ne pa pas

“Floral and herbal hop notes in the aroma balanced by hints of bread crust and toast. Roast character in the malt body creates a nice counterpoint to the otherwise bready sweetness and integrates well with the floral hop bitterness. A touch of carbonic bite attempts to further temper the malt sweetness creating a crisp, clean, but lightly bitter finish.”

“Caramel, toffee, honey, citrus aroma with only a hint of the rye barrel. The warming whiskey reveals itself when sipped along with treacle, caramel, toffee, and a complex malt profile.”

Aroma: “Hops burst to the face. Grapefruit, lemon, orange, peach, mango, pineapple, strawberry—all of the tropical fruits that shouldn’t ever be in a helles. Pine and slight dankness. Malt plays second fiddle, obviously.” Flavor: “Rich tropical-fruit blend with a superclean malt backbone. Subtle biscuit, bready malt flavors that quickly give way to dry citrus hops notes of lemongrass, orange peel, and grapefruit. Finishes with a smooth fruity bitterness that lingers pleasantly with a slight stickiness.” Overall: “The dry hopping is well executed given the light and clean body the brewer started with. It’s a tasty beer, but it’s hard to call it a helles in any fashion. It’s quite citrusy and crisp and finishes like you just took a bite of an orange and got some peel with it. I love the concept of a ‘citrus-forward helles,’ but I’m not sure that style lends itself to this combination of flavors.”