Beer: Superposition
Brewery: FREETHOUGHT (Brooklyn, NY)
Style: IPA – Imperial/Double New England
8% ABV / N/A IBU

Superposition almost smells too good to drink – the nose is halfway between peach and orange creamsicle, like a bushel of perfectly ripe fruit. This Brooklyn microbrewery’s Double NEIPA (basically an unfiltered DIPA) tastes even more wild thanks to the inclusion of Idaho 7 hops; once it’s in the glass (or your mouth), it has the mellowness of chamomile tea but the overall character of an umbrella drink like a pina colada, with a tropical sort of fruitiness that punches through the bitterness.

If you’re keeping score at home, Superposition is actually a DDH DNEIPA – a double dry hopped version of a hazy/New England style double (or imperial) IPA – fermented with a Vermont ale strain called “Conan.” Fermentation is where the magic happens, and the beer takes on a new character, with the Idaho 7 hops added after the wort. “Conan” is the yeast strain which is likely better known to home brewers attempting the “Vermont IPA” style. Together, the hops plus the yeast give this beer more body and the fruitiness I was raving about earlier.

If you’re on the fence about NEIPAs, a beer like Superposition can turn the tide because it’s a pitch-perfect rendition of that style. Anti-hazers tend to make the argument that occlusion in the beer is equivalent to a restaurant serving a dish with splatters on the edges of the plate, but that’s bollocks because porters and stouts often have sediment. It boils down to whether you prefer your beer to be translucent or opaque, but my advice is: drink ’em all and let your liver filter ’em out.

For more info, check out FREETHOUGHT here.