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.
Tasting: October 8, 2017 Style: American Pale Ale ABV: 4.8% Beer #: 1,101
Advertised as Tired Hands’ exceedingly aromatic pale ale made with oats and hopped with a blend of Amarillo, Simcoe, and Centennial. The base beer is Hop Hands 89 points that has been double dry-hopped.
Galaxy hops provide such a nice orange citrus and mellow zest flavor. Remarkably drinkable and flavorful for only 4.8% ABV. I’ll put D2H3 Galaxy a couple of ticks ahead of Hop Hands at 91 points.
The brewery’s total operation is across three different locations. Each with their own purpose: The Brew Cafe is the brewery’s original location at 16 Ardmore Avenue in Ardmore. Currently serves food and beer. The Fermentaria is the brewery and tasting room located at 35 Cricket Terrace in Ardmore. They also serve an extensive menu of food. The General Store is located at 20 Ardmore Avenue and they sell cans to go and merchandise.
Like most of SingleCut’s beers, the name comes from the lyrics of a song. This time Are You Ready Steve? comes from the song Ballroom Blitz by Sweet.
A lot of unripened fruit going on in this beer. Very succinct and potent orange rind, green pineapple and some herbal qualities. Another solid beer from SingleCut Beersmiths. I’ll say 90 points.
Another beer, another song lyric. Did you guess? The dog may be from the Dire Straits video, Money for Nothing but the specific lyric is from Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing. Not sure why but every time I hear that song it reminds me of Freshman Baseball practice. I think I just bought the 8-Track (yes, I’m old enough to have bought those). I played the bejeebers out of that song.
As far as the beer, really nicely polished with a lot of complexity. Peach, mango and definitely some citrus rind. A boozy astringency cuts through a syrupy sweet base. Very drinkable, 91 points.
I think I should just have a Magnify Brewing page. They just keep cranking out new labels and I find myself a regular on their line nearly every other week. The line from a couple of weeks ago provided me with a mild surprise. I met a group from a western Philadelphia suburb that took the two hour ride for this release. I asked if Magnify had achieved a wider buzzworthy status? One of the guys said that he would compare the enthusiasm to Tired Hands. That’s a terrific compliment.
Two cans released on February 17th.
Tasting: February 19, 2017 Style: IPA Beer #1,039 ABV: 6.5%
Magnify Brewing, Double Dry Hopped Vine Shine IPA
(C) 2017 popsonhops
I often talk about a beer “wearing out its welcome”. What I mean is that the flavor spirals downward once the beer “opens up”. Think of a wine. Swirl it around in your glass, release the aroma and mellow out the tannins. The more a wine is exposed to air the more it mellows out. I think of beer in the same way. Hops are fragile and once they are released and mixed with air, the experience seems to diminish. This is why Heady Topper suggests drinking from the can. I did pour this beer into a snifter and my first sip of Double Dry Hopped Vine Shine was amazing. Fresh pine and dank hop over just enough sweetness. As I worked my way through, the experience dropped. A little murky bitterness as the distinct flavor characteristics muddled. Overall, 87 points.
Next…
Tasting: February 18, 2017 Style: IPA Beer #1,040 ABV: 6.5%
Magnify Brewing, Copious Amounts of Juice
(C) 2017 popsonhops
Smells absolutely of fruit loops. Carries over briefly into the flavor until it gets run over by some mild dankness. Really crushable beer. Smooth and drinkable. Sixteen ounces just disappeared so quickly. Might be a bit mellow for some people but not me. I’d put Copious amounts of Juice at 92 points.
Two weeks later and I’m back on line. This time the releases are Flash Man and Citrapollo. Both are IPAs and both are first time canned.
Tasting: March 4, 2017 Style: American Double / Imperial IPA Beer #1,041 ABV: 7.6%
Magnify Brewing Citrapollo
(C) 2017 popsonhops
Brewery notes this Double IPA was hopped in both the kettle and dry hopped with Citra and Apollo. Some acrid hops. Certainly not overpowering but dank, smokey, resinous with pineapple undertones. This was the winner of the can release this week – 93 points.
Tasting: March 5, 2017 Style: American Double / Imperial IPA Beer #1,042 ABV: 8.0%
Magnify Brewing, Flash Man
(C) 2017 popsonhops
Lupulin powder is all the rage these days and it seems that Magnify Brewing is running full steam ahead with the new product. Lupulin is the yellow gland on the hop cone flowers where the alpha and beta acids and essential oils are found. A purified concentration of these resin compounds and aromatic oils was produced in Yakima in 2016 and has since become commercially available. Apparently, it is twice as expensive as standard hops but also twice as effective. It is also said that its use can help yields increase by several percent.
According to the brewery, Flash Man is loosely based on a draft only one-off and is brewed for their brewery dog, “The Flash Man.” Hopped with Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade and Centennial and dry hopped with Simcoe pellets and lupulin powder, Amarillo, Cascade and CTZ (a blend of Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus hops).
Has a candy sweet undertone. Pours fairly clear as compared to other Magnify beers. Nicely balanced. Overshadowed by Citrapollo, but certainly a nice Double IPA 89 points.
