Did anyone else watch the presidential debate this week? That alone would be enough to post the review of this beer, but with everything else going on these past several months… yeah. It might be why Double Mountain Brewery Hazy Clusterf#*k IPA is the perfect beer to be drinking right now.

This is the hazy version of Double Mountain’s perennial Clusterf#*k IPA, known for being single-hopped with Cluster hops (one of the few beers I’m aware of to do so). Cluster is one of the oldest U.S. hop crops, originating before Prohibition and historically widely used as a bittering hop before being supplanted by Galena. For more reading on the hop (and, not coincidentally, the first version of this beer I’m reviewing), check out this Beervana post from 2011.

As for this year’s hazy version, Double Mountain sent me a bottle along with the press release. Here’s what the brewery says about the beer:

Strange days call for clarity, or perhaps a lack of clarity. For our next seasonal beer we decided to brew a style that defies good judgement and good reasoning, thus its a clusterf#*k or more specifically a Hazy Clusterf#*k. In these unsteady times, it seems fitting to bring back our Clusterf#ck IPA beer for the occasion. This year seems particularly clustered, so we made it a hazy. Clusters are used through-out the brew. What a wonderful hop. Tradition. And then we pivot. Hazy Clusterf#*k IPA is available in refillable 500ml bottles and on draft at our Hood River Taproom, SE Portland Taproom in the Woodstock neighborhood, and at fine establishments throughout the Northwest.

Let’s get to my notes.

Appearance: Bronzed golden color, hazy but not too hazy, with a creamy and finely-bubbled white head.

Smell: Greenly herbal and slightly catty hops. Earthy, a hint of dank herbaceousness, with some light sweatiness. It’s lightly juicy in a “juiced greens” (wheatgrass juice?) kind of way.

Taste: Spicy-prickly bitterness with a savory greens/dandelion flavor and a light piney hop bite. Rustic? I can see why this hop was considered “rough” in pre-Pro era/by European standards but I’m enjoying it. Spicy with a touch of heat (peppery, hop burn?) and really mellow, out-of-the-way malt presences that’s quite gentle.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a nice hop presence and lingering spicy bitterness into the finish.

Overall: Great showcase of the Cluster hop, though I’m not sure it needs to be “hazy” from a style point of view.