Name: Karma Hues (July 2020)
Brewer: Half Baked Brewing Collective (Philippines)
Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA
ABV: 6.5%
Review Year: 2020
Karma Hues is the rotating IPA series of the Half Baked Brewing Collective first launched last December. This July 2020 outturn is a New England IPA brewed with Galaxy hops among others. The name of this series was inspired by the lyrics of the song Lawn Boy by the blues-rock band, Phish.
Read More: Half Baked Brewing Collective “Karma Hues (December 2019)” Juicy IPA
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
This outturn of Karma Hues pours a hazy pale straw color with a white head. Prominent guava, passion fruit, strawberry, and orange citrus make up the aroma profile.
As expected with the style, the hops compose largely the flavor balance while the malts come in secondarily. Bright fruity flavors such as semi-ripe mangoes and lemon peel are at the forefront, while light ripe cantaloupe adds a soothing tone to offset. Bitterness is slightly assertive, manifesting in the form of lemon peel and some pine. A hint of peppery heat with some star anise is noted and becomes more noticeable as the beer warms. All these characters are supported by a light bready backbone. This New England IPA has a medium body with moderate carbonation and a somewhat sticky fruit juice mouthfeel. No astringent sensations.
The beer leaves the palate quite dry, with lemon peel, black peppers, and light bread-like tones linger.
THE VERDICT
Very good. This batch of Karma Hues is bright citrus and tropical fruit-driven beer with the corresponding level of hop bitterness to back it up. To get the most out of the juiciness of this beer, we would suggest drinking this cold as some peppery heat and spice start to surface as this beer warms.
No ethyl alcohol notes were noted in this outturn unlike in the first batch. With the flavor balance already on point, we would love to see a “riper” version of this recipe in the future.
