Style: NEIPA
ABV: 7%
IBU: 40
Joe’s Take
We’re back at Local Oak Brewery in Winterville, NC for this week’s new release post. Local Oak has been a favorite of ours since their opening with the continuous release of quality one-off beers. They are exceptionally good at crafting IPAs and their recently released “My Hops Don’t Lie” continues the brewery trend.
This hazy IPA was one of the haziest I have seen from the brewery and was an almost milky white to pale yellow color. It was completely opaque and sported a thin white fleeting head. This beer was highly aromatic and it almost scorched my nostrils with strong dank and tropical hop notes. The aromas were pungent and did not require glassware to enhance them. From the aromatic evaluation it was evident the beer was generously dosed with hops. The mouthfeel was soft and smooth and was not drying to the palate. There was a smooth bubbly level of carbonation that enhanced the mouthfeel. On tasting, “My Hops Don’t Lie” lived up to its name with straight forward and strong hop characteristics and bitterness. In terms of balance, the beer was skewed toward the bitter side with the sweet malt overtaken by the hop bitterness and vegetal tones. For food pairings, I would suggest avoiding very spicy or overly bitter foods as this beer may synergystically work with the food to overwhelm your palate. Local Oak has done a great job producing another unique and flavorful beer, this time appealing to those whole love dank, bitter hops.
Appearance: Off-white to yellow, hazy as your memory after drinking too many of these. Small fleeting head. (3.5/5)
Aroma: Super aromatic hops, dank dankness, tropical fruits. (4.5/5)
Mouthfeel: Medium body, soft, not coating or drying. (4.5/5)
Taste: Very hoppy, vegetal, some notes of tropical fruits, intensifying bitterness. Sweetness overwhelmed. (4/5)
Drinkability: A little too palate-punching for me to session. (3.5/5)
Total: 20/25
Nick’s Take
Sometimes, IPAs are a little too similar. But, when you brew a New England IPA, there is a bit if an unprecedented element to the beer. One of our local favorites, Local Oak, brewed a NEIPA called “My Hops Don’t Lie” and it was certainly full of surprises.
This IPA was beautiful in a tall tulip glass. It pours in an orange-yellow color, which is completely hazy. Just a thin head that barely sticks to the walls of the glass. I took a few sniffs and this NEIPA had some juicy, tropical fruit notes. It was very evident that the hops produced a dank essence, but it was a very important factor in the tasting experience. When I took a sip, the brightness and sharpness of the dry-hopped beer really contributed to a full mouthfeel. It was a bit dry, but mostly just full of character. It tasted very juicy with lots of hoppy flavor and a pineapple/coconut/tropical fruit profile. It lingered as a sharp, almost *spicy* note, but this is likely attributed to the dry hopping. I really appreciated the fullness of this beer, and although it was a bit strong in character, I could recommend this as a sessionable IPA if you have no aversion to the higher ABV. Just be prepared for the complexity of the hops and flavor. We hope you will enjoy as we did!
Appearance: Orange-yellow, hazy color, thin fleeting head, microbubbles. (4.5/5)
Aroma: Very fragrant and complex; tropical fruit, juicy, dank. (4.5/5)
Mouthfeel: Bright, dry. (4/5)
Taste: Juicy/fruity, bitter with some bite to it. (4/5)
Drinkability: Though a bit dry/bitter, very tasty and sessionable. (4/5)
Total: 21/25
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