VERSUS: Tree House Green vs Trillium DDH Congress Street

The Stats
Tree House Green
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.49/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.59/5 (Top 250: #38)
- RateBeer: 4.07/5
Trillium DDH Congress Street
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.2%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.53/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.6/5 (Top 250: #40)
- RateBeer: 4.09/5

This is a battle of Galaxy IPA's. I have previously reviewed both the Tree House Green and the Trillium DDH Congress Street. Since I have been fortunate enough to have both of these beers cross my path at the same time, I would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to have these beers have an all-out battle to the death. 

BREWER'S DESCRIPTION

Tree House Green

"Our cross-continental IPA! Made with Australian and American hops, this tropical heavy IPA opens up in the glass with notes of hugely flavorful notes of lemon-lime, pineapple, orange sorbet, and tangerine. It has a soft but pointed bitterness and a rich, velvety mouth feel. Intensely kettle and dry hopped yet balanced and flavorful, Green is a beloved crew  favorite here at Tree House!"

Trillium DDH Congress Street

"This amplified version of our flagship American IPA, Congress Street, is a focused exhibition of the Australian Galaxy Hop."

APPEARANCE

Tree House Green

A hazy body with light orange color and almost two fingers of bright, white head that retained beautifully and left tons of lacing on the glass.

Trillium DDH Congress Street

A sunset orange color complete with a body that is a bit more murky and opaque. No light getting through this (on an IPA!). The pour produced a finger and a half of white head that leaves no lacing.

AROMA

Tree House Green

A clean hop dankness with Juicy Fruit gum and a sprinkling of pine and grapefruit. Some orange rind and a biscuity malt presence round it out nicely.

Trillium DDH Congress Street

Much more aggressive with the hop bitterness. It has the same grapefruit aroma, but much more acidic. Hints of creamy orange sherbet add some sweeter notes. Some potent dank hops too.

TASTE

Tree House Green

That bubblegum and Juicy Fruit from the aroma starts things off on the taste. Subtle hop bitterness starts to shine, but the more I sip on this, this has a creamy sorbet flavor and tons of pineapple. There's maybe even some tangerine and clementine as well. The back end actually pops with more bitterness and dank flavors.

Trillium DDH Congress Street

Like the aroma, this has a much more aggressive approach to the hop bitterness, but that's a good thing. Acidity is the name of the game once again as tart grapefruit and citrus tend to dominate. Once more, this is not being said in the negative. More of that creamy sherbet adds a dessert-like feel with faded moments of pine and spruce to boot. The lingering effect is dank bitterness and it is quite appetizing.

MOUTHFEEL

Tree House Green

Despite the creamy taste, the body is lighter than the taste would lead you to believe. There's some lingering astringency with each sip, but a good bitter aftertaste is welcome anytime.I'd say this has a lighter feel than others in the same 7.5% abv range, but it gets the job done.

Trillium DDH Congress Street

The body is full and creamy and leaves a delectable combo of dank hops and orange sherbet. The abv is well-hidden, and despite having a strong bitter bite, the drinkability is sky-high for me.

OVERALL

When comparing these two Galaxy-saturated IPA's, it is a tale of two cities.

If you want a lighter feel that still has solid dank flavors, and a ton of tropical fruits, you go for the Tree House Green. Green is (again) lighter in body, but packs in a lot of flavor with a smooth feel and easy drinkability.

Trillium DDH Congress St manages to smack you in the face and kick you in the balls with a ton of dank bitterness, but still manages to be just as drinker friendly as the TH Green.

It's a battle of delicious Galaxy IPA's, but since DDH Congress had more complexity with the same drinkability as Green, I am giving the nod to DDH Congress Street.

RATINGS

Tree House Green
8.8/10

Trillium DDH Congress Street
9.0/10

VERSUS: Castle Island ONE vs Castle Island TWO

The Stats
ONE
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.5%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.21/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.23/5
- RateBeer: N/A
TWO
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.5%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.07/5
- Beer Advocate: 4.08/5
- RateBeer: N/A

 BREWER'S DESCRIPTION

ONE

"When we set out to launch Castle Island, our goals were humble – great liquid, done right and without pretense. We quickly learned that you also had a thirst for this vision, and the passion you’ve shown us over the last year fills us with gratitude and joy. This year, we say “thank you” with ONE. A beastly, belly-warming Russian imperial stout, ONE is a toast to you, our loyal fans, for your unwavering enthusiasm for our efforts."

TWO

"We set out to launch Castle Island with a humble goal- great liquid offering relief from the hassle of everyday life. We quickly learned that you also had a thirst for this vision, and the passion you’ve shown us over the last two years fills us with gratitude and joy, as we did last year, this year we say “Thank You” with TWO. Our beastly, belly-warming Russian Imperial Stout, TWO is a toast to you, our loyal fans, for your unwavering enthusiasm for our efforts."

 

APPEARANCE

ONE

Pitch black in color with no light getting through. I got some ruby red on the edges when held up to the light. The pour produced a finger of off-white head.

TWO

Literally the same as ONE. Same dark abyss of a body devoid of color with an identical finger of matching head.

AROMA

ONE

A subtle aroma of light coffee and mellowed dark fruits on top of almost an oak character and a bit of pipe tobacco.

TWO

The fresher vintage has a bigger pop of the coffee, but also dark chocolate syrup and cherries. Digging deeper there is black licorice and some leather too.

TASTE

ONE

Up front there is more of the aforementioned oak (though, I don't think this was aged in oak). The second half starts to shine with a lot of dark fruits, especially cherries, which envelope the back of the tongue. Near the end, a distinct hop presence almost spikes the palate and leaves delicious lingering bitterness. Plums, figs, dates, and raisins really pop here on the taste after being a little too silent on the aroma.

TWO

Everything I said about ONE's taste can just be inserted here, but like the aroma, it has added elements of that dark chocolate and black licorice. That hop bitterness is the same, but the bitter bite is also being influenced by that dark chocolate. Again, to my knowledge, these weren't oak aged, but there is an undeniable wood, smoke, char, and tobacco profile to the taste. More chocolate notes emerge as it warms which give off a fudgy, brownie batter flavor.

MOUTHFEEL

ONE

The body is full and perfectly suitable for the style. It feels like a big beer, but I think it could have been thicker and more mouth-coating for an 11% RIS. Aside from some subtle warmth, there is no alcohol to be found.

TWO

This one on the other hand has a more distinct, inky, thicker body and a more luscious feel. TWO also has a slight warming sensation on each sip and no alcohol presence to be found.

OVERALL

ONE

This is a massive, double-digit RIS that you can sip on for an hour or two and keep picking out flavors over the course of the time of consumption. The nose was a bit muted, but the taste still yielded all the things you love in a big Russian Imperial. The body seemed too thin, but at the same time, it was in line for the style.

TWO

The fresher vintage has everything I liked about ONE, but all of the flavors are bigger and brighter. On TWO, the body was exactly what I want from an RIS, and this was really a selling point in this battle. I didn't see an advantage is letting ONE sit for over a year as aging it didn't bring anything to the table.

RATINGS

ONE
8.2/10

TWO
8.8/10

Versus: Trillium Headroom vs. Trillium Heavy Mettle

The Stats
Headroom
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.6/5 (Top 250: #51)
- Untappd: 4.65/5
- RateBeer: 4.08/5
Heavy Mettle
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 9.3%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.48/5
- Untappd: 4.48/5
- RateBeer: 4.02/5

BREWER'S DESCRIPTION

Headroom

"Simply put, Headroom is the hoppiest beer we’ve ever brewed with more than 7 lbs. per barrel featuring heavy doses of Galaxy & Mosaic. This is a truly special Double IPA brewed only once a year, released during the last two summers to celebrate Hop Jam; Vermont’s annual lupulin-centric beer fest. Headroom embodies our hoppy coup de grâce (for now)- we hope you enjoy!"

Heavy Mettle

"Brewed to test the Mettle of our loyal hopheads, this dank, full-bodied double IPA features intense dual additions of Amarillo and Galaxy. Bright aromatics of peach and nectarine fuse with flavors of tropical fruit and grapefruit on the palate. Accents of pine, resinous hop, and a clean bitterness reveal themselves on a smooth, dry finish."

APPEARANCE

Headroom

Absolutely murky body which is orange in color with a finger of white head

Heavy Mettle

Also has the murky, milkshake body, but this is just a shade darker in orange. This also produced a finger of white head, but the head retention was much better than Headroom.

AROMA

Headroom

Hop-saturated grapefruit and pine. Dank hop juices and oils combined with oranges, black pepper, and cedar. Insane amount of delicious bitterness and perhaps even some blueberry.

Heavy Mettle

While Headroom was slightly more juicy than dank and bitter, Heavy Mettle just comes at you with bitterness and dank Galaxy. Headroom was more tropical with its fruits, but Heavy Mettle definitely has more stone fruits as peaches and apricots are prominent. I also think the strength of Heavy Mettle's aroma was stronger as it hit me as soon as I opened the can.

TASTE

Headroom

Lots of bitterness combines beautifully with creamy orange sherbet and lemon. More of that grapefruit from the aroma and a heaping dose of dank Galaxy match wonderfully. On the back end, the bitterness and hop juices really start to kick in and it's one hell of a bite on the finish. I love how this is all fruit in the front and then non-stop bitterness in the back.The transition was seamless and it combined the best characteristics from big DIPA's into one.

Heavy Mettle

Without question, this is the more bitter beer, but I am in no way saying that as a negative. This has more of a piney, mossy dankness with touches of lemon. Like the aroma, the peaches and apricots come through nicely as do hints of mango. As I let the aftertaste linger, this is just a mouthful of weed-like dankness and pure hop resin. There was no real transition on this one as the entire ride from start to finish was filled with delicious bitterness.

MOUTHFEEL

Headroom

Full and creamy body with good carbonation. There's no trace of that 8% and it leaves some residual bitterness on each sip. The fruitiness of the hops gives it easy drinkability while still packing a bitter pucnh.

Heavy Mettle

Also a full and creamy body. Bitterness lingers more, which is not surprisingly given the taste. It is impressive how the 9.3% is nowhere to be found. There's not even a warming sensation on each sip, which is commendable since this nearly qualifies as a Triple IPA. Shockingly, the finish is actually pretty damn clean even after the hurricane of hops makes landfall on your palate.

OVERALL

Headroom struck a near perfect balance of tropical juices and bitterness. The transition was as smooth as can be and having the best of both worlds in one glass was simply sublime. To throw that many hops into one beer and still leave room for the fruity flavors to shine is astounding.

Heavy Mettle took a different approach with a bitter hop nuke that retained insane drinkability. There's nothing wrong with being all bitter hops all the time as long as you can make it drinker friendly. Heavy Mettle did just that and at almost 10%, it will seriously f**k you up if you're not careful.

So, how do you choose? Well, while I love, LOVE how Heavy Mettle can pack in so much bitterness while being easy to drink, I think the juicier Headroom just barely gets the nod for having the best of both fruit juice and dank hops. Make no mistake, they are both mind-blowing, but if I had to choose one, it would be Headroom.

RATINGS

Headroom
9.2/10

Heavy Mettle
9.1/10

Read my previous reviews of both beers!!!

Headroom 2015 and 2016
Heavy Mettle

Versus: Trillium Stillings Street vs Trillium Double Dry Hopped Stillings Street

The Stats
Stillings Street
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.2%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.42/5
- RateBeer: 4.09/5
DDH Stillings Street
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.2%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.47/5
- RateBeer: 3.7/5 (1 review)

BREWER'S DESCRIPTION

Stillings Street

"This new edition in our “Street” series of India Pale Ales spotlights the remarkably complex Nelson Sauvin hop. Stillings Street is hazy, pale orange in appearance and emits aromatic qualities of kiwi, white grape and lemongrass on the nose. Delicate flavors of citrus zest, pineapple and cantaloupe are accentuated with crisp malt character, mild bitterness, and a soft, effervescent mouthfeel."

 

DDH Stillings Street

 "This amplified version of Stillings Street IPA features a double dose of Nelson Sauvin in the dry hop. Hazy, pale orange in appearance with intensely aromatic qualities of kiwi, white grape and lemongrass on the nose. Delicate flavors of citrus zest, pineapple and cantaloupe are accentuated with crisp malt character, mild bitterness, and a soft, effervescent mouthfeel."

APPEARANCE

Stillings Street

Pours the classic hazy light orange with a finger of white head

 

DDH Stillings Street

Compared to the standard Stillings, this is a god damn orange milkshake. A completely murky body and also a finger of white head.

AROMA

Stillings Street

A really nice grapefruit aroma without the acidity. This is followed by some kiwi and touches of white wine. It has an underlying wheat aroma that I wasn't expecting.

DDH Stillings Street

Somebody might want to mark this down because this is one of the few times I had a positive physical reaction to smelling a beer. Double dry hopping the Nelson has exponentially turned up the grapefruit and white wine to near superhuman levels. Then there's the notorious Trillium orange sherbet that I get with so many of their big IPA's. There's something similar to sugar-sprinkled grapefruit and somehow a toasted (even coconut) aroma to this.

TASTE

Stillings Street

I'd say it matches all of the notes from the aroma in regards to subtlety. Grapefruit zest would be more of an accurate way to describe this rather than pure grapefruit juice. Again though, no acidity and all flavor. The middle of the mouth catches a lot of dry white wine and some white grapes. No kiwi from the aroma and no real other fruit juice to take up the slack. Near the end, a nice bite of dankness and bitterness come through.

DDH Stillings Street

Do I dare? I think I have to do it...

NELSON NUKE!!!!!!!!

Holy Diver! This is a Nelson money shot (you're welcome for the image). I don't think bottles of white wine have as big of a white wine flavor as this beer does (hyperbole is fun!). If Nelson hops were a load, Peter North would be busting this out on a daily basis.

Ok, I will try to calm myself down for this....*clears throat*...OK, we're good.

An overpowering amount of white wine and white grapes flood my mouth at every turn. Then I get tons and tons of orange and sweet orange sherbet. This has a lot of sweet qualities with that sugar-sprinkled grapefruit making a return from the aroma. A tropical fruit influence of pineapple takes up a lot of real estate with even a spritz of lemon zest. Like it's little brother, the back end and finish has a nice, bitter bite and some dankness with even a pinch of mango to add to the fruit salad.

MOUTHFEEL

Stillings Street

The body is medium with little carbonation (but not flat). No alcohol presence and it goes down easy. Comes off a little dry.

DDH Stillings Street

Also a medium body, but the texture is luxuriously creamy with more noticeable carbonation than the base beer. It's a nice harmony of smooth and silky combined with bubbles dancing on my tongue.

OVERALL

Stillings Street was a solid representation of the use if Nelson hops. A nice palette of grapefruit and white wine let you know this was a Nelson beer, but it wasn't the best use I've ever experienced. Still a damn good IPA from a brewery that makes plenty of 'em.

As for the DDH Stillings Street, I am blown away. I actually can't believe DDH Stilling and regular Stillings are cut from the same cloth. The DDH version is far and way the superior offering. I know that the DDH versions of Trillium beers are better than their standard counterparts, but this comparison is ridiculous. An example I can personally cite is the Congress Street and DDH Congress Street, but those two at least were similar with the DDH version slightly winning out. In this case, DDH Stillings is so far ahead of the standard version that it might as well have a new name to distance itself from the family lineage.

Personally, I have found IPA's with Nelson hops to be extremely hit or miss. A great example of a home run was the Tree House In Perpetuity, but I think DDH Stillings Street has replaced that as my favorite Nelson IPA.

RATINGS

Stillings Street
7.8/10

DDH Stillings Street
9.7/10

Versus: Wormtown Be Hoppy & Wormtown Be Hoppier

The Stats
Wormtown Be Hoppy
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.5%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.25/5
- RateBeer: 3.67/5
Wormtown Be Hoppier
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.09/5
- RateBeer: 3.25/5 (weighted avg)

I love doing these face-offs. So, Be Hoppy is a Massachusetts darling beloved by all. Wormtown Brewery out of Worcester produces a wide array of styles, but their flagship IPA is their most popular. For me personally, I have a special relationship with this beer as it currently sits as my most checked-in beer on Untappd.

Clearly I have a love for this brew. So when I heard of an Imperial version of Be Hoppy, I knew it was a party I had to crash (because I'm not cool enough to get invited). I remember years ago when bombers of this stuff hit my local stores in small amounts, and to be quite honest, I do remember thinking that it wasn't special. Years have passed and maybe it will grown on me. What better way to see how it sizes up than to pit these two against each other in a fight to the death?

BREWER'S DESCRIPTION

 Wormtown Be Hoppy

"Be Hoppy is our take on the Left Coast IPA. The huge aromatics and big citrus forward flavors come from the copious amount of hops we use during our double dry hop and hop back processes. Let our IPA put a smile on your face Harvey Ball would be proud of. Have a Great Beer!"

Wormtown Be Hoppier 

"What do you do when our Be Hoppy IPA isn’t hoppy enough for you? Seek out its award winning bigger brother. We add mash hopping along with our double dry hop and hop back processes to  create a hop bomb of epic proportions."

APPEARANCE

Wormtown Be Hoppy

Pours dark yellow with a hazy body and a finger of bright white head

Wormtown Be Hoppier

Noticeably darker in appearance with a rusty orange body which is also mostly hazy and produced a finger of white head.

AROMA

Wormtown Be Hoppy

Smells more earthy than your usual New England IPA's. It has tons of wet grass and hints of tree bark and pine. There's just barely a touch of grapefruit hidden in the back. It also smells very clean.

Wormtown Be Hoppier

The hop oils and aromas are significantly stronger here. The tree bark aroma from Be Hoppy has turned into thick tree sap and there's a sweet malt aroma too. That grassy, earthy, wet moss is bigger and bolder and it has some candied orange too. Overall this is sweeter on the nose than its little brother with a bigger hop bite.

TASTE

Wormtown Be Hoppy

The flavors are all subtle, but there sure are a lot of them in this glass. The taste yields a fruitier presence than the aroma ever did as I get stronger grapefruit and splashes of mango and pineapple. Additionally there is a hoppy resin presence on the back with a little bit of that subtle pine from the aroma. Other hop varietals are lending some spicy notes and herbaceous qualities. It's actually more complex than I had anticipated, but also subdued enough to not overwhelm the palate.

Wormtown Be Hoppier

I don't want to be cliche, boring, and just sound like I'm half-assing this, but the best way to describe the taste is just to say it is a stronger version of the standard Be Hoppy. Everything from the base beer is here, but just in bigger numbers. I think the pine tree component is significantly bigger here than on the other, but the other flavors, while also bigger, aren't light years ahead of Be Hoppy. As with the aroma, it is dominated by herbal and grassy hops with the fruity notes being limited to some sweet, candied orange and a minor lemon zest quality. The hop intensity and resinous character are noticeable with a nice, little smack in the face on the initial sip, but you get used to it as you drink.

MOUTHFEEL

Wormtown Be Hoppy

Relatively calm feel with enough hoppy goodness left to stick to your tongue. The body is light-to-medium and its easy to drink despite the multitude of flavors.

Wormtown Be Hoppier

The body is slightly thicker, but not syrupy by any means. It isn't as easy to gulp down as Be Hoppy, but for a DIPA with such a large resinous flavor, it isn't that bad. As I said before, you get used to the intensity and sweetness.

OVERALL

In a lot of cases where a brewery makes a DIPA version of one of their best IPA's, usually the DIPA edition will win out. Now, I'm not saying I don't like Be Hoppier. I think it is a great beer packed with flavor a good drinkability. Is it THAT much of an improvement? I would personally say no. I prefer regular Be Hoppy because while the flavors aren't as intense as Be Hoppier, you still do get all of the same flavors as the DIPA which didn't amplify them to the cosmic level that I hoped they would. I also find Be Hoppy easier to drink and is something I would (actually I do) have in my fridge on a regular basis. Be Hoppier did show how you can enhance a base beer, but it didn't do it by much. The DIPA is still good, but when it comes to choosing between the two, I am taking Be Hoppy.

RATINGS

Wormtown Be Hoppy
8.5/10

Wormtown Be Hoppier
8.0/10

WINNER

Versus: Maui Brewing Coconut Porter & Baxter Brewing Window Seat

The Stats
Maui Coconut Porter
Style: American Porter
ABV: 6.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.99/5
- RateBeer: 3.69/5
Baxter Window Seat
Style: American Porter
ABV: 6.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.95/5
- RateBeer: 3.4/5

I really enjoy doing these "Versus" reviews. This is my second time doing one of these comparisons and this will be an ongoing feature on the blog. It's fun to put two beers of the same (or similar) style next to each other and see how one brewery approaches the recipe when compared to another. Last time I did this, I compared two beers of the same style, but were from the same brewery. This time, the breweries are different and the example is a coconut-flavored porter. I had a sweet tooth today and my dessert requirement is going to be filled (and then some).

APPEARANCE

Maui Coconut Porter
Sits seemingly pitch black in the glass, but shows shades of ruby red when held up to the light. The almond-colored head stuck around forever.

Baxter Window Seat
Almost identical to the Maui porter with the black body and dark red highlights. The head was also the same color, but with Baxter, the head disappeared quickly and wasn't as frothy.

AROMA

Maui Coconut Porter
Dark roast coffee is the most prominent. There's a small touch of toasted coconut, but it's not all that big. Some nice sweet chocolate syrup on the back end makes this smell like dessert and not the coconut.

Baxter Window Seat
A-ha, the coconut came to play on this one. Shredded coconut and nuttiness remind me of an Almond Joy. Then there's overly bitter coffee grounds hidden behind everything.

TASTE

Maui Coconut Porter
Thankfully the coconut showed up on the taste, and it's delicious. Don't think shredded coconut, but more toasted, which isn't as sugary or artificial-tasting. Middle of the mouth has flavors of iced coffee and mocha with a bitter dark chocolate finish with a minor bite of dark roast coffee on the very end.

Baxter Window Seat
I compared the aroma to an Almond Joy and I can safely say the same thing for the taste. All of the flavors are here just like the Maui porter, but they are more vibrant and dessert-like. A pleasant likeness to a fresh cup of coffee with cream is here too. That coffee bitterness is here throughout, but it's not like burnt coffee grounds, so it is actually welcome in this case.

MOUTHFEEL

Maui Coconut Porter
The feel is relatively calm, but that dark coffee bitterness sticks to every bit of my tongue and takes a few moments to go away. While you can't expect a luscious mouth-coating for 6%, the body does come up a tad thin, but not watery.

Baxter Window Seat
Smooth all around, but also a tad thin for style like the Maui porter. Unlike the Maui porter, there were no unpleasant cloying flavors as this was just a liquid dessert with easy drinkability.

OVERALL

I give the victory to Baxter Window Seat on this one. With the Maui Coconut Porter, the coconut was a background player while the coconut on the Window Seat was the lead actor. The Window Seat is a better dessert beer with the flavors popping off more on the taste and aroma when compared to Maui.

RATINGS

Maui Coconut Porter
 7.1/10

Baxter Window Seat
8.0/10

WINNER

Versus: Trillium Galaxy Dry Hopped Fort Point Pale Ale & Trillium Enigma Dry Hopped Fort Point Pale Ale

The Stats (The Same for Both)
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6.60%
Current Ratings...
Galaxy FPPA
- Beer Advocate: 4.57/5 (Top 250: #52)
- RateBeer: 4.06/5
Enigma FPPA
- Beer Advocate: 4.31/5 (two reviews)
- RateBeer: N/A (no ratings)

It's my first attempt at a face off between two beers. As of this writing, the Enigma FPPA was just released today, November 21st. I already had the Galaxy FPPA chilling in the fridge and figured this would be a fun comparison. The base beer is the standard FPPA which is brewed with Citra and Columbus hops. Trillium has cranked out multiple dry-hopped variations such as these two, but also a Mosaic and a Double Dry-Hopped version. Dry hopping is when a brewer adds hops between fermentation and packaging in order to enhance the aroma of a beer. Naturally when you enhance aroma, you will also enhance taste.

I've also never reviewed either of these on the blog, but I have had the Galaxy version multiple times, so I might as well throw in my reviews here while I'm at it.

APPEARANCE

Galaxy FPPA & Enigma FPPA
I mean, for this case, the beers are the same in terms of appearance. It's a hazy orange with a finger of white head.

AROMA

Galaxy FPPA
Fresh hop bitterness, citrus juices, orange/orange peel.

Enigma FPPA
This hop is new to me, but it has a distinct mint or green tea smell to it with even fresh-cut cedar.

TASTE

Galaxy FPPA
The Galaxy hops are bringing a fresh hop juice and dank quality. Some more of the citrus and orange from the aroma shines as well which reminds me of a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. That dankness though is just as big (if not bigger) and gives the sensation of drinking weed. Intense bitterness on the finish with some more lingering dank qualities with a final kick of orange and even some lemon peel for good measure. Very nice.

Enigma FPPA
Like the aroma, fresh mint and tea are prominent, but not overpowering. I previously reviewed Trillium's Polaris which utilized (as the name suggests) Polaris hops. I would call the Enigma FPPA a dialed-down version of those hops. There's somewhat of an odd-tasting sawdust flavor to this. It doesn't turn me away, but it does make me do a double take. There's maybe even just s touch of pine or tree sap hidden in the depths of this one too.

MOUTHFEEL

Galaxy FPPA & Enigma FPPA
Like the appearance, these two are again, basically the same in this category. They are nice and full with perfect amounts of carbonation with no alcohol presence.

OVERALL

Galaxy FPPA
The dank hop qualities and citrus worked together beautifully and made this an easy-drinking experience with tons of flavor. Elements of the standard FPPA were present throughout, but the addition of Galaxy added complexity to a style that is typically just a glass of hops. It's an incredibly hoppy and juicy pale ale worth seeking out.

Enigma FPPA
The flavors I encountered actually worked well in this pale ale, but they did seem to conceal a lot of the orange and citrus that the base FPPA usually provides. Don't get me wrong, the green tea, mint, pine, and bitterness did make for an interesting flavor palette and the beer was still highly drinkable, but I wish it didn't mask the natural fruit juices of the standard Fort Point Pale Ale.

RATINGS

Galaxy Fort Point Pale Ale
9.0/10

Enigma fort Point Pale Ale
8.6/10