Elysian Brewing Company Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale Ale

**Aroma:** “Moderately sweet with a slight phenolic. Peach, mango. Not intensely hoppy. Some malt sweetness. Some orange, pine, and lemon.” **Flavor:** “Sweet up front and strongly bitter on the finish. The phenolic shows up on the palate as well. Hops evoke peach, orange, and mango. Slight slickness on the tongue indicating possible diactyl. The bitterness fights against the sweetness in this flavor a bit. Finishes with some warmth. Very mild hops avor compared to most the others. Some grassiness and a bit of floral. Lots of pithy bitterness and little of that malt complexity from the nose.” **Overall:** “Slightly disjointed with a few missteps that detract from overall impression. Hops character is pleasant, but is overshadowed by the phenolic. The beer has some good flavors at its core—the malt character has some nice sweetness, and the hops have some good juice and bitterness. But the sum of the whole here is not greater than the parts.”

__Aroma:__ “Citrus with a deeper character. Orange, orange zest, orange juice. There’s an underlying red fruit/raspberry/ strawberry thing going on. Is the aroma supported by some fruity hops additions? Blood orange, lemon, and grapefruit and some slight hops notes.” __Flavor:__ “Great blood-orange flesh and zest notes throughout, but the base beer is a flash of carbonation that quickly fades to almost nothing on your palate. Finishes thin and slightly bitter with a carbonic bite. The lingering bitterness is not unpleasant. There’s a marmalade character to the flavor.” __Overall:__ “The orange is present but not overpowering. The zest and juice character that comes through is likeable, but it needs more residual sweetness to support the orange presence. A bit of pithy bitterness from the zest borders on too much. Nice beer overall.”

__Aroma:__ “A quiet nose that doesn’t give away too many secrets. Whiffs of spicy black tea, cider apples, and honeydew melon. Light smokiness (like a mild smoked cheddar). Cloves and oranges with light malt and spice and almost a mead-like aroma.” __Flavor:__ “First sip was very simple: mild malt sweetness along with a light fruit (orange) and faint phenol. Second taste offered more spicy character, much of it from alcohol, although it’s not hot. Herbal hops notes with subtle bitterness, but very little is required to balance this beer—alcohol and carbonation take care of that. Fairly sweet, a bit like a honey-tinged cider. Lower carbonation than you’d expect.” __Overall:__ “This is not as complex as the style can get but makes up for that with impeccable balance. This is a great gateway tripel that’s still interesting enough for craft-beer fans. A creative take on a classic style.”