A friend texted me from the brewery…”“Go to the website, let me know what you want.”
With each request his reply was, “Don’t have that either”.
He and I are pretty in sync with beer so, he ultimately just said that the Double Dry-Hopped All Citra Everything – 92 points was excellent. Who am I to argue? That came with a second squealer of Other Half Anniversary (3th Anniversary).
I forgot that I had the Double Dry-Hopped All Citra Everything once before but I’ll admit this was better than I remember. Frankly, this eclipses the 3rd Other Half anniversary offering. I’d peg beer # 1,127 at 90 points. Super tropical, syrupy and boozy astringency.
Took me a while to figure out the the Kings County Brewers Collective was a brewery, not just a trade association. Quick first impression, Froot Loops! Well not over the top but really well-balanced. Dangerously drinkable at the 8.6%. Was a little understated but I still liked it enough for 92 points.
Collective Arts Radio the Mothership! Tasting: November 18, 2017 Style: ABV: 8.5% Beer #: 1,113
Lots of lime and tangerine. A bit too boozy and sharply bitter on the finish. I probably would have like this more about 5 years ago before New England IPA. Still 89 points.
Singlecut Beersmiths Double Dry Hopped Is This the Real Life? Tasting: November 12, 2017 Style: Double Dry-Hopped American-style IPA ABV: 7.2% Beer #: 1,114
Juicy orange flesh and slightly bitter zest. Some pineapple and black tea. Double Dry Hopped Is This the Real Life? is the real deal. 94 points. Read my thoughts on Is This the Real Life? as well as my story on rat hair in candy bars.
Tired Hands Am I Okay? Tasting: November 11, 2017 Style: IPA ABV: 6.6% Beer #: 1,115
Label on this 16 ounce can says, “Single Oated, Single Lactosed, Single Fruited, Single Dry-Hopped.” The oats and lactose should help deliver a nice mouthfeel. They do. Very mellow flavor of citrus, lemon in particular and some stone fruit. Nice mouthfeel. I can see this as an excellent summer beer. Really enjoyed 93 points.
Tasting: October 12, 2017 Style: American Double / Imperial IPA Beer #: 1,111 ABV: 8.2%
When I first started this website in 2011, the craft beer world was a whole lot smaller. There were fewer than 2,000 breweries in operation compared to the nearly 6,000 reported in 2017. There was no Trillium, no Tree House and no Other Half. My aim was to find the beer widely considered the best beer in America. Of course, that task seems impossible today as the landscape keeps shifting.
Before I started this website, I quickly realized how naive I was about the availablity of what was considered the best in America. You may recall my story of when I asked about buying a Dark Lord at my neighborhood beer store. I realized that getting to try these limited release beer would need some travel, trades and some patience. Early on, I created a bucket list of sorts and I’m happy to say that I crossed off a number of beers off one of my early lists.
I was able to cross this off my list as part of a whirlwind trip to the brewery on October 11th. I’ll give you more details on my trip in a later post. As far as Hill Farmstead Abner, I get massive fleshy orange and orange rind that weaves itself around some mild but noticeable boozy ethers. As you’d expect, there is that wonderful Hill Farmstead balance and polish. A true work of art, 97 points.
Head High Tasting: September 1, 2017 Style: American-style IPA Beer #: 1,102 ABV: 6.6%
I have foodie friends and when they gush on about certain dishes, they often describe the fresh flavor. I think everyone gets that sentiment, and it’s easy to distinguish the differences between freshly picked tomatoes from your garden and the flavorless red things sold at the supermarket. I think the same can be said for hop-based beer. A positive experience can be described as a beer that has a fresh hop flavor. That is a bit deceiving as many hops used are dried and pelletized and really aren’t fresh off the vine. I think the interpretation is that you can taste the true characteristics of the hop and the latest evolution of craft beer has brewers working to spotlight a fresh flavor.
For many years, hops were added primarily in mid-boil and late boil. The mid-boil hop addition converts the alpha acids found in hops to bitterness compounds. The late hop addition released enough hop oils to contribute to a beer’s aroma. The boiling of hops doesn’t do much for imparting that fresh hop flavor. Today, brewers are shifting away from the bitterness addition and concentrating on the late or post cooling by using hopbacks, whirlpools and dry/wet hopping. So, when someone say that a beer has a fresh hop flavor, a lot of creativity went into the finished product.
A friend stopped by Kane during a recent beach trip and picked me up a few four-packs of Head High and Overhead – 93 points. Purely a guess, but I think Head High and Overhead might describe wave heights as overhead represents an imperial IPA as compared to the base IPA.
I’ve had this beer many times and I’m surprised that it hasn’t appeared in my blog. Fresh hops abound here and Head High is a solid go to beer, 91 points.
If you want release information, Kane tends to make announcements via their Instagram Page
