Boulder Beer Company

Boulder Beer's lineup has been a bit of a gamble thus far... I found this bottle of Obovoid on sale the other day and decided I'd roll the dice one more time. The Obovoid is part of the Looking Glass series of special release beers Boulder Beer puts out on a seasonal basis. My experience so far has been that the Looking Glass beers are certainly bigger but not always better... The Obovoid hasn't really changed my opinion of the Looking Glass series.

Boulder Beer's Killer Penguin is the non-Barleywine Barleywine... It has a double digit alcohol by volume percentage and smells a little boozy, but it doesn't have that thick dark flavor/texture that I've come to expect from Barleywines. That's not to say the Killer Penguin isn't a good beer, it has a lot to offer if you're willing to cut this lighter, mellower Barleywine some slack. While pouring this beer from it's wax dipped bottle into my snifter, I noticed the aroma was much lighter than I was expecting. The first thing I noticed was the crisp and sweet cherries and grapefruit on the nose. There is plenty of malted goodness in this beer but it doesn't stand out as much as the other flavors because it isn't roasted or super sweet. This isn't a complaint, but it contributes to the overall blendedness of this beer.

Dear Boulder Beer Company,
Why must all of your beers but hopped within an inch of sanity? I think you have a problem, you've stuff an ungodly amount of hops into your Never Summer Ale. This beer, as you know, is your Christmas seasonal and it tastes like a liquified 2x4... I'm affraid this condition has gotten so bad that you're unable to recognize malts or other flavors that beer drinkers might appreciate. I hope you see the error of your ways and learn to use hops responsibly, for the sake of those who love you.

Well... the name pretty much says it all. Boulder Beer Company's Hazed & Infused is an APA that is loaded with hops, hops and more hops. Oh, and it's also dry hopped... So if you like hops, this is the beer beer for you. If you prefer the flavor of malts or yeast, well you might want to pass this one up. Caveats aside, this beer isn't all bad. For a strongly hopped beer there is a fair bit of complexity. Underneath all the hops you can taste toasted malt, a little citrus and just a hint of caramel. Even though the hops are pretty overbearing the beer isn't too bitter. I wouldn't call this beer balanced, but the hidden malt component does take a bit of edge off of the hops. In the end, this beer is really just a one trick pony. If you are easily entertained by beers full of hops, hops and more hops then this beer is for you. I can think of about 100 other beers I'd rather drink.