From the Beer Writer: My preference for clear beers sometimes makes me come off like I have no use for hazy IPAs, but I actually see them as just another style of beer. Some of them are good, some not so much. But there’s no denying (and no reason to deny) the pleasureful, bright, and yes, juicy hop flavors and aromas well-done pea-soup IPAs offer those who give them a chance. Burgeon Beer Company has gained a fast following behind such beers (though it should be noted they make some fine traditional IPAs as well), the most recent of which debuted at the Carlsbad interest’s one-year-anniversary celebration last weekend. Going by the name Burgeon Can’t Stop Juicin’, it’s an amped-up double version of their Northeast-style IPA “Everybody’s Juicin’.” Fed a hefty diet of Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops (with sides of wheat and other girth-fortifying ingredients) it pours so solid you could mistake it for a novelty pint-glass candle. Fortunately, the beer’s flavor matches its density, coming on strong with tangerine, pineapple and passion fruit tones that coat the tongue thanks to that trademark NEIPA viscosity.
From the Brewer: “For our Northeast-style IPAs, our main goals are to achieve massive aroma and flavor while coming through with big restraint on bitterness. This leads to beers that are very soft on the palate with a much chewier mouthfeel than the West Coast IPAs we produce. We attribute the haziness of these beers to our house yeast strain and heavy percentages of malted wheat, unmalted wheat and flaked malts. We also utilize a softer water profile. Can’t Stop Juicin’ gets a massive charge of Nelson and Citra in the whirlpool and dry hop. We were at about a one-pound-per-barrel in the whirlpool and three-pounds-per-barrel in the dry-hop stage. We get huge tropical, mango and papaya notes from the Citra, and the quintessential white wine, passion fruit and otherwise fruity notes from the Nelson. This double IPA clocks in at 8.2% and 66 IBUs (international bittering units). We always make a huge argument over calculated bitterness versus perceived bitterness…but you be the judge!”—Anthony Tallman, Brewmaster, Burgeon Beer Company