I liked the random alien references on the can, but something about the two “Does Not Contain Juice” disclaimers stuck me as odd. Not sure if this was part of the joke or a required disclaimer, but I found it weird, especially in this area of juicy DIPAs. Either way, I’m getting side-tracked. On with the review.
Beer Name: Space Juice
Brewer: Long Trail Brewing Company
Style: DIPA
ABV: 8.7%
Description: As detailed on the brewery’s website, this was brewed with two-row and caramel malts and a heavy dose of Galaxy, Mosaic, Citra, Columbus, and Ella hops. No date on the can that I could find, but they do say that the last canning run was on 04/22/2016 and these weren’t at the store a week or two ago. The $15.49 price tag for a four pack of 16 oz. cans seemed a bit high for what I was used to from this brewery, but I went with it based on their track record. I poured the beer for this review into my NERAX pint glass.
Appearance: Poured a not quite opaque light amber body with a foamy white head.
Smell: There was a bit of sweetness, but overall not much to say here.
Taste: Sweet malts upfront with a piney, earthy bitterness on the back-end. Not very assertive on either front, I would call both tastes more muted than I would balanced, though they were certainly the latter as well. The finish had a hint of alcohol, especially as the beer sat for a bit, and had a lingering sugary sweet taste mixed with some bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied with a slight creaminess. Moderate amount of carbonation.
Hype Factor: I had seen online that some people looking forward to this one, but that’s about as much hype as I am aware of.
Overall: This wasn’t necessarily a bad beer, but I did find it disappointing. It didn’t quite do it for me stylistically and at the price point it was offered at I have come to expect more. The beer ended up coming off as more muted than balanced, which led me to wonder about freshness. However, since the website states that this was scheduled to hit stores in early May (right around the time I drank it) I have to assume that this is representative of what the beer was meant to be. I’ll have no problems finishing the rest, but is not something I would seek out again.
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