Brewed By: Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn, New York
Purchased: Tall 12oz can from a 4-pack bought at a Kroger in Athens, Ohio; 2012
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.1%
I can already feel my teeth hurting just murmuring the name of tonight's beer. "Resin." Yup, there goes my enamel. And last time I was at the dentist, he told me I had a "D9" or some shit. Basically, I'm a pussy who can't brush his teeth without using Sensodyne because wahhh wahhh I drink craft beer. Mother fucking first world problems.
It's actually the hops that blast away your enamel, and apparently tonight's beer is full of hops. I mean, it's called Resin for fuck's sake. Resin is a de facto descriptor for many Imperial IPAs. It's that super oily, dense, hop wallop that coats your palate. Resin.
Sixpoint Brewery is relatively new to the world of craft beer, as they were founded in 2004. The brewery was founded by brewer Shance C. Welch, as he began brewing in an 800 square foot garage in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook. Wikipedia states that the brewery was co-founded by Andrew Bronstein, who met Welch at the University of Wisconsin. Andrew provided the cash investment needed to lease the facilities and begin brewing. The brewery is known for its philosophy. More specifically, Sixpoint is all about not defining their beers according to style guidelines. This point is echoed if you visit their Beers page. They state that they have brewed hundreds of different beers, and they have no plans to stop this proliferation of styles. Of final note, Sixpoint began canning their beer in 2011, which is pretty cool, especially for a craft brewer.
Tonight's beer, Resin, is a giant Imperial IPA. There is a cool video on the Resin at Sixpoint's Resin page. I encourage you to check it out. This beer clocks in at 9.1% ABV, and packs 103 IBUs. It's loaded up with hops, and all that good stuff. Let the teeth smashing commence!
This is a gorgeous looking Impy-IPA when you pour it into a glass. The body is this lovely, hazy, orange/juicy/murky looking color, with hints of yellow on the sides. The beer pours with 4-fingers of thick, foamy, fluffy, off-white head. The head picks up some orange in the color from the body of the beer. There is nice lacing as the head pulls away, and there appears to be moderate to high carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rushing upwards. Gorgeous.
The aroma on this beer is incredible. This beer lives up to its name, at least in aroma. Huge resiny aromas wallop your sense of smell. I'm pulling out resiny grass, resiny citrus, lemon rind, Pledge, a touch of earthy wood, and some sweeter caramel malts. Maybe just a hint of biscuit if I go searching for it? Mostly resiny hops though.
Holy shit, I can feel my teeth melting upon the first sip. And then I get walloped with a blast of super biting, resiny citrus. And then...peaceful biscuits and malt...and then more teeth grinding citrus. Wow! This is intensely bitter, with a lot of intense flavors bouncing around on the tip of my tongue. I'm even getting a hint of salty zest from this beer. There is a nice malt balance to complement the insane resin-hop-wallop. I'm getting waves of biscuits, caramel, and even a moment of honey. I taste lemon zest, resiny citrus, grass; the usual hop suspects. Then I get some malts; biscuits, caramel, honey. And then more resiny citrus. The alcohol and/or the extreme hoppiness are also adding a peppery/salty kick to this beer, and the resin just punches your palate. Maybe a hint of tobacco/wood a la the Stone 15th Anniversary Ale.
Enough rambling. Let's summarize and shit. This is not the most bitter beer I have had, but it is perhaps the most concentrated in terms of resiny hop profiles. The resin is big and bold, with some peppery/salty/zesty alcohol-resin kick thrown into the mix. The mouthfeel is medium, and the carbonation is moderate to high. This is fairly easy to drink for the style, and would pair magnificently with some pizza (<-trust me, I did it). Palate depth is...full...but the real "experience" of this beer lies in the little bursts of "Resin assault" on your palate. And there are many of them. Complexity is fairly high for the style, with a nice balance of malts and hops. You get a dash of malt up front, followed by a resinous assault; mid palate warms up to some malts; the finish is resinous, dry, and slightly warming. Peppery/zesty/salty resin pops throughout.
I'm feeling a teeth-crushing Decent Divine Brew rating on this beer. This beer is not for everybody. If you hate extremely hoppy beers, or the trend in American craft brewing to push the "hop envelope," stay away. Also, you might hate this beer if you are a dentist. It is kind of gimmicky, naming your beer "Resin." But this actually delivers! How often does a brewer name their beer after something, like *coughDoughnutBaconMaplecough*, and it ends up tasting more like asshole than the actual flavor it was named after? Okay, maybe that just happens to Rogue. But my point still stands, for what this beer is, it is good. It's also a standout Imperial IPA, deviating from the typical experience. I have to recommend this, and some Sensodyne.
 |
| Hops: First World Problems |
It's actually the hops that blast away your enamel, and apparently tonight's beer is full of hops. I mean, it's called Resin for fuck's sake. Resin is a de facto descriptor for many Imperial IPAs. It's that super oily, dense, hop wallop that coats your palate. Resin.
Sixpoint Brewery is relatively new to the world of craft beer, as they were founded in 2004. The brewery was founded by brewer Shance C. Welch, as he began brewing in an 800 square foot garage in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook. Wikipedia states that the brewery was co-founded by Andrew Bronstein, who met Welch at the University of Wisconsin. Andrew provided the cash investment needed to lease the facilities and begin brewing. The brewery is known for its philosophy. More specifically, Sixpoint is all about not defining their beers according to style guidelines. This point is echoed if you visit their Beers page. They state that they have brewed hundreds of different beers, and they have no plans to stop this proliferation of styles. Of final note, Sixpoint began canning their beer in 2011, which is pretty cool, especially for a craft brewer.
Tonight's beer, Resin, is a giant Imperial IPA. There is a cool video on the Resin at Sixpoint's Resin page. I encourage you to check it out. This beer clocks in at 9.1% ABV, and packs 103 IBUs. It's loaded up with hops, and all that good stuff. Let the teeth smashing commence!
 |
| Sixpoint Resin |
This is a gorgeous looking Impy-IPA when you pour it into a glass. The body is this lovely, hazy, orange/juicy/murky looking color, with hints of yellow on the sides. The beer pours with 4-fingers of thick, foamy, fluffy, off-white head. The head picks up some orange in the color from the body of the beer. There is nice lacing as the head pulls away, and there appears to be moderate to high carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rushing upwards. Gorgeous.
The aroma on this beer is incredible. This beer lives up to its name, at least in aroma. Huge resiny aromas wallop your sense of smell. I'm pulling out resiny grass, resiny citrus, lemon rind, Pledge, a touch of earthy wood, and some sweeter caramel malts. Maybe just a hint of biscuit if I go searching for it? Mostly resiny hops though.
Holy shit, I can feel my teeth melting upon the first sip. And then I get walloped with a blast of super biting, resiny citrus. And then...peaceful biscuits and malt...and then more teeth grinding citrus. Wow! This is intensely bitter, with a lot of intense flavors bouncing around on the tip of my tongue. I'm even getting a hint of salty zest from this beer. There is a nice malt balance to complement the insane resin-hop-wallop. I'm getting waves of biscuits, caramel, and even a moment of honey. I taste lemon zest, resiny citrus, grass; the usual hop suspects. Then I get some malts; biscuits, caramel, honey. And then more resiny citrus. The alcohol and/or the extreme hoppiness are also adding a peppery/salty kick to this beer, and the resin just punches your palate. Maybe a hint of tobacco/wood a la the Stone 15th Anniversary Ale.
Enough rambling. Let's summarize and shit. This is not the most bitter beer I have had, but it is perhaps the most concentrated in terms of resiny hop profiles. The resin is big and bold, with some peppery/salty/zesty alcohol-resin kick thrown into the mix. The mouthfeel is medium, and the carbonation is moderate to high. This is fairly easy to drink for the style, and would pair magnificently with some pizza (<-trust me, I did it). Palate depth is...full...but the real "experience" of this beer lies in the little bursts of "Resin assault" on your palate. And there are many of them. Complexity is fairly high for the style, with a nice balance of malts and hops. You get a dash of malt up front, followed by a resinous assault; mid palate warms up to some malts; the finish is resinous, dry, and slightly warming. Peppery/zesty/salty resin pops throughout.
 |
| Wait 'til you try meth! |
Rating: Divine Brew
I'm feeling a teeth-crushing Decent Divine Brew rating on this beer. This beer is not for everybody. If you hate extremely hoppy beers, or the trend in American craft brewing to push the "hop envelope," stay away. Also, you might hate this beer if you are a dentist. It is kind of gimmicky, naming your beer "Resin." But this actually delivers! How often does a brewer name their beer after something, like *coughDoughnutBaconMaplecough*, and it ends up tasting more like asshole than the actual flavor it was named after? Okay, maybe that just happens to Rogue. But my point still stands, for what this beer is, it is good. It's also a standout Imperial IPA, deviating from the typical experience. I have to recommend this, and some Sensodyne.
God Roque blew it with that. That's the only beer of theirs that made it to NC earlier this year. Now that I'm in PDX and see more of their catalogue they're much less of a joke to me. Looking forward to trying this one.
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