500 mL bottle, gold foil on the neck. Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. 2009 hop harvest, beer bottled in April 2010.
OK, pretty interested to find my first Thornbridge beer in the US, There’s been plenty of talk about this brewery and I’m keen to make up my own mind and to experience some of their beers for myself.
Very unusual appearance. In a nutshell the beer resembles a Hefe in terms of the color. A hazy, orange, butterscotch affair with some fizzy carbonation. Head is small and not very well retained by does give some lace. Not what I was expecting at all.
Nose and tastes both threaten a big grapefruit attack, but both back away VERY quickly to give a lot of sweetness. The beer leaves a residual grain-like sweetness and it lingers. There’s some sickly, honey like notes and a syrupy feel that gets a little tedious.
The alcohol, although hidden in terms of the taste, does start to accumulate and begins to tire the palate a little.
Frankly I didn’t care for this a great deal and I’m not sure what the beer is trying to be.