Gigantic’s Sodbusted VII: the Simcoe Awakens is my selection for today. It’s a fresh hop pale and since I’ve been talking up Gigantic recently, I thought I’d give this beer a go while I still can.
The hop quality in the nose is fantastic; it smells like being in an orchard. I can’t place what kind at first-but repeated attempts give off some citrus.
The flavor, well, this is one of the reasons people clamor for these beers. The Sodbusted tastes like orange zest on the finish, then had a drying quality clearing my palate off in a way that makes me thirsty for more.
There’s some body and a little malt in the middle-but nothing too heavy. Just enough sweetness to give the beer some depth. However, this lovely orange note, no pith, not overly sweet, it’s just a great flavor and the kind of beer that I hope people get a chance to try.
And that’s just the first glass.
The second glass I think I’m starting to get why the nose is so difficult to pick up on; this beer evokes the delicacy of orange blossoms, and doesn’t have the hearty quality of fruit or branch.
The sweetness seems a little reduced: initially my impression was sweet enough that it almost had a gumdrop quality but no, this is more balanced than my initial impression. But it’s still very evocative of orange zest and very, very drinkable.
Today’s second pint goes to the ACLU.
