Year of New Beer: Haze Carll, Rubobrau (Louisville)

Written By: Dion on 10/30/2016

For quite some time, I've been jealous of friends getting to sample the homebrew handiwork of Mark Rubenstein. Yesterday he was kind enough to pass off a few bottles to me, and now I see (and taste) what all the fuss is about. Playing the part of cloudy New England IPA to perfection, this one hits the glass looking like nothing less than straight grapefruit juice. The nose is big fruit, with grapefruit leading the way, as lesser notes of mango, papaya, and peach skin cover a dankness that builds with warmth. No disappointment on the tongue as this flat-out crushes the taste buds with sticky, juicy, pithy hop bitterness. The fruits try valiantly to offer up a touch of sweetness, but they're quickly smacked down by the onslaught of acidic grapefruit. A bit dank and grassy as the glass sits. This is so freaking good! A hop-lover's dream. Every bit as good as any production brewery IPA I've ever had. If I could make my own beer that tasted like this, I wouldn't need to buy anyone else's. Thanks so much for sharing this with me, Mark!