- Mike Riedel
Desert Edge - Haze Jeebus: Clean and fruit forward, the Bru-1 hops are among the most coveted of all hop varieties—but not every brewer gets to brew with them. The Desert Edge team, however, scored enough of them, along with some Sabro hops, to incorporate them into an IPA that celebrates the hop varieties in a way that few can.
As Haze Jeebus treks along, it's the Bru-1 hops that give the beer its uniqueness, and that all starts with a fruit-filled blend of citrus and stone fruit aromatics. Lightly vegetal and herbal, the enticing scent hovers above a deep, turbid haze of golden orange and a heady froth that stands tall throughout.
Its first sip is candied with honeysuckle, shortcake and a juicy, fruit-like maltiness. As the ale opens up on the middle palate, the hops shine with a blend of grapefruit, coconut and under-ripened oranges before trailing into an apricot, peach and cantaloupe taste. Drying quicker than is usual for the series, the smooth but quick bitterness is decorated with elements of coconut, sun tea and an herbal array of hemp and hay. Medium-bodied at 7.0 percent alcohol, the beer's juicy character gives way to the drying nature of hops for a refreshing finish, but also one of limited culinary adventure, roundness and any extension of fruit. A medium-length aftertaste of botanical bitterness lasts just beyond the fruit peels and juicy nature overall.
Verdict: The melon and citrus combo, combined with hints of coconut, really makes this IPA special. The Bru -1 and Sabro hops do a great job of providing this beer with brilliant flavors that you may not expect from a hoppy beer. I really enjoyed this one.
Beer Zombies - Re-Zombinator: It pours a hazy, pale orange coloration with a medium, fluffy head. It's milky and thick in the glass—denser than I personally need it to be—and with some obvious oat and yeastiness. Smells of light biscuit malt—along with tropical, citrus and berry hops—emerge, followed by notes of passionfruit, grapefruit and gooseberry.
The taste is a great balance of light biscuit malt and fruity, juicy, slightly spicy, dank and resinous hops, with tropical, citrus and berry notes of passionfruit, mango, grapefruit, orange and gooseberry, as well as just a hint of peppery weed and pine. It's the citrus part of the beer that really shines through into the end. All of the citrus is represented here from the zest, pith and meat, delivering quite a bright flavor. It finishes with a medium bitterness and some passionfruit, grapefruit, gooseberry and peppery weed lingering in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is soft, with a medium/rich body and medium carbonation.
Verdict: While I personally think that these quadruple dry-hopped, triple-strength hazy IPAs are totally pointless overkill, I do have to say that Beer Zombies does them exceptionally well—which cannot be said of a lot of breweries, in my opinion. There's not a hint of booze, overdone sweetness or overripe fruit notes, and just a hint of hop burn to this. In fact, I think you would be pretty hard-pressed to tell that this is an 8.6 percent ABV brew at all. Overall, this makes for a very well-done, enjoyable brew.
These two beers will take a little more effort to obtain, because for the most part, they're designed to be enjoyed at their establishments. Haze Jeebus can be purchased with lunch or dinner at Desert Edge, or you can buy some to go. Re-Zombinator in SLC is only available at the Beer Zombies bar located at HallPass in The Gateway. Sadly, you can only drink their beers on premises. As always, cheers!
