What is better than fresh? Re-fresh!!
Last month Sixpoint Brewing implemented a refresh of their core lineup of beers which are: Crisp, Sweet Action, Resin and Bengali.
This refresh was a combination of efforts:
- A change of packaging including a change to the dates they place on the bottom of their cans. They now indicate both a canning date as well as a best by date.
- They reformulated their recipes. This is not so much of a new thing for Sixpoint since in the past they have continually ‘tweaked’ their recipes but for this go-around they seemed to have made bigger changes.
- They have made new efforts in sourcing their ingredients – hops.
- They have eliminated filtering – these new beers are unfiltered.
There was a thread started which includes a press release for this update. For today’s beer I have Bengali which is their IPA. Below is a short description of how this beer has been re-freshed:
“With BENGALI, we tweaked the hop character, and incorporated some new hop strains we’ve just recently acquired, to seriously dial in that citrusy-tropical aroma. Then we smoothed out the texture with oats, and dried out the malt body to let the hops take full control. This thing is all about huge tropical character up front, and a clean, dry finish.”
Some additional details from the Sixpoint website: “Bengali is that go-to IPA you want by the pint. Big tropical hop character up front, super clean, with a dryness on the back end that leaves you wanting more.
Key Ingredients: Flaked oats provide a silky texture, while Mandarina Bavaria and Amarillo hops give the beer a huge splash of citrus aroma, without lingering bitterness.”
Well, all of this reading has me salivating: LET’S DRINK!!
Appearance: Golden colored with a big white head; pretty clear appearance.
Aroma: There is some pine/resin, some citrus and a hint of fruity aromas.
Taste: The flavor follows the nose. There is mostly pine/resin & citrus. For the first few sips there is just a subtle malt backbone but as the beer opens up the malt flavor is more notable. There is a firm bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.
Overall: This beer is very good!! I really enjoy the hop aromas/flavors of pine/resin along with citrus. As the beer opens up (warms up) it becomes a more balanced beer between the hops and malt.
Cheers!
Author: Jack Horzempa is a longtime friend of the store and an extremely knowledgeable home brewer, brewing some of the best beer I have ever tasted. Jack's palate is well seasoned and he has been a valuable source of beer expertise to the store. He has graciously allowed us to re-post his review/posts from Beer Advocate where he has achieved Poo-bah status. Since joining Beer Advocate 12 yrs ago, Jack has posted more than 20,000 times and earned over 25,000 likes.