Hello, and welcome to Beers and Such, the craft beer review site that promises nothing and delivers exactly that. Originally, there was intent to review things other than beer, but there hasn't been much of that. With that being said, changing the name of the site to Beers wouldn't make much sense, so Beers and Such it is!
Today I'll be taking a look at As Far Back As I Can Remember New England IPA by Great Lakes Brewery, located in the center of the universe, Toronto, Ontario. This is another NEIPA on a growing list of NEIPA's reviewed by a guy that doesn't really care for NEIPA's. There have been some notable exceptions, however.
I hope this is another exception. At 6.4%, my lightweight disposition would more than likely have me feeling saucy around the halfway mark, so I hope I can drink the first half of this one.
The sniff test raises my hopes for this one. It smells of tropical hops, and I can't detect any of that potentially difficult bitterness I associate with NEIPA's. According to Neil from Halifax, NEIPA's aren't supposed to be overly bitter, so I must have tried some bad examples of the species in my early days of beer tasting.
With all that babbling out of the way, let's get to the point.
I tell you what, that's a pretty good beer. It opens with almost no tropical hop flavours at all which is a surprise. I thought for sure they would be front and center of this one. Instead, there's a citrus/something-not-citrus opening that fades almost immediately to a big middle stanza that brings on some sweet malty flavours, and then trips lightly through the bitter garden before a nice clean finish.
I don't taste anything in this beer that's overdone or exaggerated. It's nicely balanced, with all the flavours getting their moment to shine, and then passing on gracefully to the next flavour in line. It is just bitter enough to remind you you're drinking an IPA, but it never gets out of hand. Then it sort of just leaves you with a little bit of happiness in your mouth.
In honour of the impending lockdown starting tomorrow, I can honestly say this beer is perfect for not being around friends and family while you quietly sip a nice beer by yourself. Safety is so important these days, and you might as well be safe with a good beverage. If you have any wings or nachos lying around, you might want to consider cleaning your house you slob!
Stupid autocorrect. What I meant to say was if you have wings or nachos handy, they would be a nice addition to your lockdown beer session.
My rating: 8.5/10. This is a good beer, and in combination with the other good NEIPA's I've come across, this one makes me think I'm not so opposed to NEIPA's afterall.
My trusty second sipper, and hater of all things IPA disagrees.
My wife's rating: 2/10.
There you have it, friends. As Far Back As I Can Remember New England IPA by Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto, Ontario is a damn fine beer. Check out the rest of Great Lakes' line up at greatlakesbeer.com