Nashville continues to be hot and humid, and I remind myself of a cold bottle of brew: My body is quickly covered by condensation as soon as I step outdoors and stand still. But there are many beers around that I've never seen before, and one of them is another one of Yazoo's. The Brewmater's Hop Project seems to be numbered based on its release, implying that no two batches are exactly the same.
I'm not sure what series the one I tried was, as there was no form of numbering system that I could see on the bottle. But I did notice a pleasantly tame citrus smell wafting out of the bottle after I popped the cap. It's a faint odor, and it really does not give a hint of the extreme flavor experience that is about to blast down your gaping orifice.
Even the first contact on your lips is deceiving, having what I like to call the Trojan Horse effect. There is an immediate dull, bitterness that lurks in the background of your taste perception, like Paris' misgivings about the equine gift the Greeks apparently left behind. You know, because nothing says "Sorry for ten years of invasion and butchery" like giant, wheeled horse made out of boat wood. I think that youngest son of Priam said something along the lines of "this is horseshit." The rest is history.
Anyway... as soon as that tame bitterness gets into your mouth, it explodes into frenzied activity.
Wait. I'm getting a sense of deja vu here. I'm pretty sure I've used this elaborate metaphor before.
Lemmie think. Uhh...
Like the humble HIV virus, the single bit of taste infiltrates your pallet, multiplies, and then bursts forth in extreme flavor! Your ability to resist strong hoppy deliciousness is quickly suppressed as even hardened foes of I.P.A.'s like myself are won over by the intensity and robustness of the beer's body.
Before you know it, your entire mouth is filled with hoppy flavor particles, and as the infection spreads, the background bitterness that welcomed the beer into your mouth grows steadily in strength.
Like AIDS, the taste never quite leaves you. Even twenty seconds after the gulp, your mouth will still be filled with a nice charcoal flavored buzz. An interesting ending to a beer that only seems interested in punching you in the face with one distinct flavor.
However, a beer that chooses to specialize in itself is definitely not a bad thing, and the Brewmaster's Hop Project is a good purchase for any fan of hoppy beers or I.P.A.'s. For those of us who generally avoid that flavor spectrum of beer, this Yazoo brew has just enough ale-ish thickness to satisfy. Find one, drink it, and you'll like it.
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