Name: Focal Banger
Brewer: The Alchemist
Style: New England IPA
ABV: 7%
Review Year: 2021
Focal Banger is an “American IPA” brewed by The Alchemist from Vermont. This unfiltered IPA was brewed using Citra and Mosaic hops together with the brewery’s favorite British malts.
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
First drank from the can as suggested by the brewer. A second specimen was poured into a glass for photos, aroma, and appearance. Hazy pale gold; white head with good retention. Focal Banger opened up with moderately high ripe fruity aromas (mango, peach, grapefruit, and passion fruit) with grassy and bready hints. Medium-bodied; moderately carbonated. Juicy and ripe flavors of peach, mango, and grapefruit dominated as bready and a trace of caramel malt supported. Some spice-like and fresh herbal accents added more character to the beer. Medium-low bitterness, low residual sweetness gave this beer an off-dry quality. Focal Banger ended with lingering hop bitterness and bready malt.
THE VERDICT
Focal Banger by The Alchemist is an “American IPA” benchmarked as a New England IPA based on our selected guidelines. It is essentially a hazy and unfiltered IPA with a wide range of hop flavors such as fruity, grassy, spicy, and even herbal. We personally find this to be more well-rounded than Heady Topper, another iconic unfiltered IPA from The Alchemist we have reviewed.
Overall, Focal Banger is an excellent beer that was way ahead of its time. Drink fresh.
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