Disclaimer: We will come clean. This review was, unfortunately, written at a time when we were not aware that mats of bubbles are symptoms of a dirty glass. Just because we are Drink Me Dirty, it does not mean it is acceptable to drink from a dirty glass. Clean and rinse your glasswares properly. As better informed drinkers, we now vow to spread the gospel of clean glassware. Read more about this topic here. #DirtyGlassMafia
Name: Infinity Polar Vortex
Brewer: Equilibrium Brewery (United States), Northern Monk (United Kingdom)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA)
ABV: 10.5%
Review Year: 2019
The New York beer scientists, Equilibrium Brewery, teamed up with the brewing brethren of Leeds, Northern Monk, for one of the most notable “Triple” IPA collaborations in 2019– the Infinity Polar Vortex.
Infinity Polar Vortex is a hybrid of two beers: Infinity Vortex and Polar Vortex. Infinity Vortex is a Patrons Project three-way collaboration among the two breweries and Other Half. Meanwhile, Polar Vortex is a highly-rated “Triple IPA” from the New York-based brewery. Mashed together, Infinity Polar Vortex features a massive hop bill of Citra, Amarillo, Barbe Rouge, Columbus, Mosaic, and Galaxy.
Read More: Northern Monk’s PatronsProject
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B) with the Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
As of this writing, the “Triple IPA” is not an official and explicit style in the BJCP; thus, these beers still lack a comprehensive set of style guidelines. For the hazy and juicy variants, these Triple IPAs could simply be bigger-than-double versions of a New England IPA or Hazy IPA with an ABV roughly over 10.5%.
TASTING NOTES
Infinity Polar Vortex is a hazy yellow-orange beer with a white head. Fresh ripe mangoes, orange marmalade, and peach greet the nose immediately. This fragrant profile was already expected given this is a collaboration between Equilibrium and Northern Monk.
On the palate, Infinity Polar Vortex is medium-bodied with an assertive level of carbonation. This Triple IPA then unleashes very juicy mangoes, mandarin oranges, pineapples, backed up by some bitterness akin to pine. Oat-like backbone is present, a recurring theme in modern hazy beers from the United Kingdom (UK). Pulpy oranges linger in the aftertaste.
THE VERDICT
Infinity Polar Vortex is every hazy beer fanboy’s dream “Triple” IPA– superbly aromatic, juicy, and dangerously drinkable even with 10.5% ABV. The oat-like notes add a nice touch of “UK” imprint on this Triple IPA. Outstanding and definitely worth the collaboration hype.
