It was back in February when Worthy Brewing provided me with a sample selection of its current beers; at the time, the primary one I was interested in was Peace and Salinity, the brewery’s Dortmunder-style lager brewed with wildfire smoke-infused malt and lemon zest. I wrote about that beer for the newspaper, but hadn’t yet written about those other beers.

Interestingly, all of those beers besides Peace and Salinity were hazy IPA variants, providing a microcosm-like glimpse into the marketplace. In particular, the Easy Day beers are the ones to watch from Worthy, as they are the brewery’s entrance into the low-cal lifestyle segment.

And now in light of the newest samples of the Easy Day I received last week, let’s break out some reviews; first, the four non-Easy Day beers that I originally received. I’ll follow up with another post comparing the Easy Days from February, and now.

Rule of Two Hazy Imperial IPA

Billed as the first of in the three limited-edition Hopstar IPA series, Rule of Two is 8% ABV with 42 IBUs. The brewery’s description says:

Rule of 2 is a tangerine colored double hazy IPA uses a crazy blend of hops from Oregon, Washington and the Southern Hemisphere to bring you a well-balanced and juicy IPA that bursts with heavy aromas of orange peel and grapefruit.

The hops listed are Strata, Azacca, Rakau, Amarillo, Cascade, and Mosaic.

Appearance: It’s a hazy dark apricot color, and muddy-looking. There’s a good fluffy off-white head.

Smell: Stone fruit (juice) and allium greens, but not particularly spicy allium—more leeks or young chives than garlic. Fruity notes of peach, prickly pear, with some nettles. An “oily” oat note.

Taste: There’s a good level of bitterness to taste like a proper double IPA, with a mildly peppery, savory green note, forest floor earthiness, and pineapple-olive juice (yes, as if you blended pineapple juice and a little bit of olive brine). The malts are kind of neutral but do have an oat-y quality (though I don’t know if oats were used). A touch muddled but pretty good profile overall.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with pillowy malt and a bit of alcohol warmth, along with lingering near-hop burn.

Overall: Decent/pretty good hazy DIPA, some non-descript/muddled notes but it brings the hops.

Return to the Mountain Hazy IPA

Worthy’s entry into the fledgling “mountain IPA” category was brewed with kveik yeast. If you’re wondering about that style, here’s the description which touches on it (lifted from Untappd):

You might be asking yourself, what the hell is a Mountain Style IPA? Well, think of the best of both coasts! Moderate bitterness, juicy hop aromas derived from exciting hops, slightly hazy, and easy drinking! We decided to brew our take on this emerging style using Kveik yeast! It’s the yeast that allows us to get you this deliciously juicy and crisp brew from mash to glass in just 7 days!

I don’t know that there’s a canonical description for “mountain-style IPA” yet but from what I gather it’s supposed to be a merging of West Coast and New England styles of IPA. Or something. At any rate, the use of kveik in this beer is interesting, arguably moreso than the style.

A bit of discrepancy on the stats; Untappd lists 6.8% and 45 IBUs, while the sellsheet I got with the beer says 5% ABV and 35 IBUs. Being that the can I received was essentially a to-go draft fill, I don’t know which is supposed to be correct, but I’d lean towards the sellsheet.

Appearance: Hazy-opaque, dirty orange color, with a white head.

Smell: Fruity with papaya, passion fruit; sweaty; stone fruit; some resin, and mustard greens. Almost an allium character, an impression of garlic or chives that just falls short that may or may not be picked up on. Pungent, bright, and a hint dank.

Taste: Big juice and savory character coming at you at the same time; impression is of peach juice and lamb’s quarter (an edible weed). Mild green peppercorn and red leaf lettuce, a grainy quality that’s a touch coarse. Mild herbal bitterness, slightly muddled malts, and some estery floral notes that might indicate a hot fermentation (typical with kveik).

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a slightly muddled, almost gritty feel.

Overall: Okay, not sure what makes it a “mountain IPA” as it’s more of a kveik hazy… I notice I have a lot of “mild” qualifiers in my notes, which is what gives the overall easy-drinking impression.

Terpelicious Hazy IPA

Terpelicious is another in the Hopstar series, and while the name would imply the addition of terpenes (or terpene sources) above and beyond hops, the only real addition listed seems to be guava. Here’s the description:

Terpene (noun) – Any of a large group of volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons found in the essential oils of plants, especially hops. Also known as, a oneway ticket to Flavortown. This beer bursts with tropical flavors and aroma! With the addition of guava and a hop concotion designed to burst with aromas of citrus and tropical deliciousness.

The hop bill settled out at Saphir, Azacca, Amarillo, Mosaic, and Citra, and the beer is 6.6% with 40 IBUs.

Appearance: Hazy orange, with a fairly standard “haze” appearance. The head is off-white and has a minimal presence.

Smell: Stone fruit, POG juice, sweaty savory greens. There are notes of tropical fruit blossoms and wheatgrass juice, and there’s a touch of something dank and oily (living up to the “terpene” angle).

Taste: Zesty, herbal hop flavors and light bitterness, interleaved with mild mango and guava fruit flavors. There’s a nice gentle spiciness behind the fruit, kind of a radish-green peppery character, and some cooked cereal grains in the malt body that meshes well with everything. There are good savory “green” notes that are tasty, with perhaps a touch of aloe vera.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a lingering herbal aftertaste and a clean finish.

Overall: Tasty and pretty good with a nice interplay of fruit and savory, spicy “dank” character.

Return to Hibernation Hazy Imperial IPA

Return to Hibernation was Worthy’s winter ale, which it called “A delightfully balanced imperial hazy, perfect for sipping while snowblowing, watching Netflix; really any place you will be spending time this winter.” It was included in the Oregon Winter Take-Home Brewfest mixed case back in December, and this one still tasted relatively fresh.

According to the sell sheet, it’s 8% ABV with 35 IBUs, and brewed with Azacca, Simcoe, Mandarina Bavaria, and Cascade hops.

Appearance: Hazy, copper-orange in color, with a touch of gold at the edges of the glass. Off-white head.

Smell: Tropical fruits—pineapple, papaya—and orange marmalade. Canned pineapple with juice. Some savory greens but none of the allium I’d typically smell in a hazy; it’s all sweet fruit aromas.

Taste: Lightly bitter with a spicy herbal hoppiness and a savory pineapple rind fruitiness. A bit muddled on flavors as it leans into its “hazy” components (high protein grains and whatnot) and there a very light hint of alcohol with some floral/rose esters. Nice gentle spicy hops come up at the back to tickle the throat.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a nice, fluffy-grainy chewiness; soft.

Overall: This is a nice beer with good fruitiness, if a little muddled in flavor, but it drinks pretty easy for it’s strength.