Beer: Crucifixion – Third Servile War
Brewery: Nightmare Brewing Company (Farmingdale, NY)
Style: IPA – Imperial/Double
10.6% ABV / N/A IBU
The can art—which depicts vultures getting ready to feast on the carrion of crucified gladiators along the Appian Way—is pretty tame by Nightmare Brewing Company‘s standards. For reference, the can for Nightmare’s Gunga Rao sour IPA features a dude’s head getting gored by an elephant tusk, set across a pastoral backdrop of impaled bodies and decapitated heads. Crucifixion – Third Servile War doesn’t need outrageous visuals to offend with a concept like this: Double IPA with three different types of hops and, um, sacramental bread. To quote noted beer enthusiast Homer J Simpson, “mmmm… sacrilicious!”
Crucifixion – Third Servile War proves to be yet another work of demented genius from the death metal and gore-obsessed nomad brewing operation Nightmare. The blend of Calypso, Vic Secret, and Simcoe hops creates something that is both tropical and appealingly bitter- there’s pineapple and peach on the nose, but the bitterness (experienced at the back on your palette) is the first thing you taste. Which is great, because all fruit-forward hazy IPAs can go to hell. The magic is in the hops. This is a beer that is definitely meant to be poured in a glass, rather than quaffed from the pounder can.
For one, it’s a good way to slow-roll your consumption of a beer with a moderately-high (for its style) ABV that definitely sneaks up on you. Beyond that, you can see how much care Nightmare has put into how this beer looks. Crucifixion –Third Servile War pours with an attractive hazy caramel-orange color and a modest head that is extremely slow to dissipate. This DIPA is kind of a marvel of lacing—you can swirl the beer around in the glass while you drink it and watch the foam residue form new patterns on the sides of the glass. Seems like Crucifixion is creation, even if metalcore fans are accustomed to it being the other way around.
For more info, check out Nightmare Brewing Company here and here.
