I’ve been calling this January “semi-dry.” I’m still enjoying a beer or two about once a week plus the drinks I sip for teaching workshops and tasting practice, but it has been a nice 20 days reflecting on my motivations and reasons for grabbing a beer.
Of course, one of those reasons is flavor! I love fruity, spicy, and citrusy hop flavor. I love lots of carbonation. And I love refreshing dry beverages, so naturally I love drinking beer.
Brooklyn Brewery sent me some of their new non-alcoholic Special Effects IPA . Since I’d never had non-alcoholic beer before, I wanted to take my first taste totally blind to see if the flavor measured up to my beer-y expectations.
I had my trusty assistant set up the tasting where I compared the Special Effects IPA to two similar beer styles. He ended up picking a hoppy amber and a hoppy pilsner for me to try next to the non-alcoholic IPA.
So, could I pick out the non-alcoholic option based on aroma alone?? You’ll have to watch to find out but I will say it was much more difficult than I expected.
Tasting Notes – Brooklyn Brewery Non-Alcoholic Special Effects IPA
The grapefruit and citrus notes of the hops aroma in the Special Effects IPA are the top notes (aka the outstanding flavor characteristic) of this beer. They smell fresh and not too sweet, and really smell like my favorite IPAs out on the market today. I didn’t get flavor from the malt but there was a full enough mouthfeel to keep the balance from being too bitter. Overall the impact was refreshing and bold but not too intense, I think these would be great outside in the summer at an event or after a run!
Thanks to Brooklyn Brewery for the IPA and for sponsoring this post!
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