Name: Five Year
Brewer: Finback Brewery (United States)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA)
ABV: 10.1%
Review Year: 2019
Obtained fresh from the taproom in Queens, New York City, Five Year is one of two fifth anniversary offerings from Finback Brewery. The other one being the Five Year Anniversary Imperial Stout, which we will be reviewing in a few months. Five Year is a “Triple IPA” brewed with Mosaic, Meridian, and Denali hops.
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
Five Year pours a hazy yellow-orange beer with a persistent head. The nose opens up with a bouquet of marmalade and fresh fruits such as passion fruit, apples, and pomegranate. Flavors of pomegranate and dragon fruit come forward and are joined by notes of apples and lychees. Moreover, Five Year comes as a medium-bodied beer with a lingering finish of overripe fruits reminiscent of lychees and passion fruit.
THE VERDICT
In conclusion, Five Year is a standout brew from Finback, worthy of being an anniversary release. It is a “Triple IPA” with a huge 10.1% ABV yet maintains its flavorful juiciness and drinkability. This might also be the first beer we reviewed that had been brewed with the hop varieties, Meridian and Denali. Outstanding.
