Foley Brothers Skeleton Crew

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.21/5
- RateBeer: 3.67/5
- Untappd: 4.15/5

"Our small crew worked hard to prep this bone crushing Imperial IPA with over 12 pounds per barrell of the most flavorful hops there are"

Ok, commercial description doesn't yield much, but it's supposed to be a massive Double IPA, so let's find out.

Pours a hazy, golden orange with a finger of white head.

Incredibly sweet and acidic citrus hops on the nose. Possibly some spicy hops here as well, which would explain the bite. I pick up quite a bit of the malts on this too as a rustic breadiness comes forward.

The taste has more in common with tropical West Coast DIPA's rather than anything coming out of New England. Like the aroma, it is almost overpoweringly sweet, but luckily it knows when to stop. Pure juice concentrate and a syrupy sweetness highlight the taste, but all throughout, this is a bitter bomb. I'm not saying that as a negative, but it's presence can't be ignored. Noticeable flavors of tangerines and mangoes add to the tropical side of things, but this is really all about the syrupy hop taste and feel.

Mouthfeel is thick as mentioned before, but it actually doesn't overstay its welcome. Syrupy for sure, but the good amount of carbonation moves the beer along nicely. It doesn't have that resinous taste or feel that can plague big Double IPA's and the sweetness adds to the drinkability.

What can I say? Skeleton Crew is a bitter bomb, a hop bomb, and a juice bomb all at the same time. This DIPA goes for classic West Coast sticky, tropical sweetness and it delivers. When I took the first whiff on the aroma, I was hesitant for the taste, but I've been sipping on this for the past hour or so and I'm liking it more and more with each swig. I think maybe my palate was looking for a change of pace from the milkshake-esque New England IPA's I have become accustomed to, so finding Skeleton Crew has been a pleasure. It's a big, flavorful, sticky, sweet DIPA that I can't shut up about, so no more ranting. Great beer!

Rating
9.0/10

Foley Brothers Fair Maiden

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.20%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.41/5
- RateBeer: 3.92/5 (mean)

Not a lot of information is available about Foley Brothers. What we do know that it is a very small operation which is apart of the Neshobe River Brewing Company in Brandon, VT. Neshobe River is primarily a winery, but their beers by Foley Brothers are making huge waves in Vermont and the rest of New England.

Pours a hazy. dirty dark yellow/light orange with two fingers of bright white head.

The aroma is quite varied. I'm picking up some spicy hops (possibly Summit) with black pepper, cedar, and some garlic/onion.

Pretty much everything on the aroma is here on the taste. The description on the bottle says this is made with seven different hops and I wonder if Mosaic is in here as the black pepper/cedar is here in a delightful way. What is different is the presence of some grassy hops and even the faintest hint of pineapple or even white grapes. Not a lot of that West Coast garlic on the flavor, but it still has moments of dankness. When they say it is made with seven hop varieties, I believe it because this seems to hit all of the characteristics of juicy, dank, spicy, and earthy hops.

It's not often I call an IPA "fluffy, but there's a first for everything. It has a soft mouthfeel that is welcoming and as an 8.20% Imperial, there is no alcohol presence. A nice kick of carbonation moves the intense hop flavor along and the flavors stay through from front to back with nothing lost along the way.

Fair Maiden has a lot of diverse hop flavor which makes it more complex than your usual IPA. I was impressed with the drinkability as the amount of hops could potentially scare away people who don't like the style. That's simply not the case here as this has the complexity to satisfy veterans, but also the clean finish and flavor palette to entice those new to Double IPA's.

Rating
9.1/10