Name: DDH Rare Trait
Brewer: Cerebral Brewing (United States)
Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA
ABV: 6.6%
Review Year: 2020
In celebration of their first anniversary, the Denver-based Cerebral Brewing made a special double dry-hopped version of their house IPA, Rare Trait. This hazy and juicy IPA features tons of Citra, El Dorado, Azacca, and Mosaic hops.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) in the context of the provisional guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) for the said beer style. The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
DDH Rare Trait pours a hazy pale gold color with a foamy white head. Fragrant aromas of orange pith, tangerines, sweet pineapples, guavas, gummy candies, and fruit cocktail can already be smelled just by opening the can. It looks like double dry-hopping this beer really paid off.
On the palate, DDH Rare Trait paints a much more interesting picture. It is a medium-bodied beer with a soft and pillowy mouthfeel. The flavor mirrors the aroma with orange pith, sweet pineapples, juicy tangerines, and mangoes. Interesting hints of white chocolates add to the mix. Very low bitterness, and very juice-like. The aftertaste lingers with light guavas, orange pith, and tangerines.
THE VERDICT
Very impressive. Cerebral’s DDH Rare Trait reminded us of why we fell in love with Colorado’s craft beers in the first place. It is an unpretentious, undeniably aromatic, and juicy beer. We rank this as one of the best beers we have tried from Colorado, up there with Trade Secrets, a collaboration beer between Cerebral and WeldWerks. If someone from either brewery is reading this, please make that beer again!
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