The “whale” in the title isn’t really but for this Tuesday Tastings there is an interesting lineup of reviews. And depending on your take on hazy “milkshake” IPAs and blended fruit sours, maybe there’s something “whalez” like for you after all…

Claim 52 Purple Panda Milkshake IPA

Over the summer a trip to Eugene with a Claim 52 Brewing gift card yielded several beers we brought home, one of which was a crowler of the brewery’s then-new Purple Panda Milkshake IPA, a hazy/New England style India pale ale in the “milkshake” variant: with lactose (milk sugar), vanilla, coconut, and blueberries added.

I have to admit, I still don’t really get the point of a “milkshake IPA” because I just don’t think India pale ale is a good vehicle for this concept. Hazy and unfiltered? Great, I’ve been drinking those for years, back when we called them “IPAs.” Adding fruit? Okay, it can work sometimes, if the fruit is truly complementary to the hops. But fruit, lactose, vanilla, and more? Okay—if it makes sense for the style. But IPAs are supposed to be hop showcases, not sweet sugar bombs.

(It probably also doesn’t help to my palate that Mosaic and similar varieties that brewers love to use in these taste like garlic and green onion instead of tropical fruit.)

Now all that being said… Purple Panda somehow worked, and was interesting. Probably the best milkshake IPA I’ve had so far.

Appearance: It poured with a fizzy, off white head that broke fast. The color was truly purple in a crushed/bruised blackberry purée look. Opaque, cloudy, like a bruise.

Smell: Crushed berries and citrusy hops. Creamy or ice cream-like note (lactose, and maybe the coconut?) — reminded me of berry ice cream (not sherbet). Pungent in its milkshake-ness.

Taste: Hop bitterness up front with coconut and a sweet lactose presence, which was different but worked; berry was present but muted. Coconut berry ice cream. Hard to get a read on it but it worked somehow.

Mouthfeel: Creamy semi-full body and texture.

Overall: A bit of hop character but it’s the “milkshake” ingredients that dominated the overall experience.

Two Brothers Sidekick Pale Ale

This was a beer Two Brothers Brewing sent me along with its Oktoberfest beer, a seasonal pale ale that the brewery describes thusly:

Sidekick is bursting with notes of citrus, tropical and passion fruit. Flavor-packed and hop-forward, this Pale Ale is also refreshing and drinkable, making it the perfect Sidekick for any occasion.

I drank two cans of the beer, marked “best by” 12/11/2018, but didn’t otherwise indicate when it was canned. The beer is 5.1% ABV with 36 IBUs.

Appearance: White, crisp, fizzy head that didn’t last long but stayed at the edges in a ring. Color was pale golden yellow, with a slight haze. (Probably chill haze.) Almost “blonde” in color. Persistent bubbles.

Smell: Pungent, piney northwest hops, with resin and citrus zest. Hoppy in a nicely lingering way yet remained mellow and mild.

Taste: Hop forward with a kick of bitterness and hop resin bite. The levels of hoppiness/bitterness came off as slightly harsh, astringent, compared to the light malt body making up the base. There was a decent dry malt finish, with lingering hops into the aftertaste for a bit. Mellows some as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body with a light astringency and earthiness, lingering harsh bitter/woody notes.

Overall: Looks nice but a bit heavy-handed from the hops, and the light woody astringency took away from the experience, prevalent over other hop flavors. Not terrible but disappointing, average at best.

Claim 52 & Block 15 Ménage à Framboise

Another Claim 52 beer, this one a collaboration with Block 15 Brewery, and I joked about it being a “whalez” beer simply because it’s a fruit sour blend that many haven’t seen. I hadn’t been aware of it before running across it, but it certainly looked intriguing enough to pick up.

And the description is pretty enticing, too (pulled from Untappd):

Beginning with a blend of two old world farmhouse yeast strains, this beer was fermented upon 400 lbs of local Oregon raspberries, producing a thick, jammy, purple ale. Taking this already delicious beer to another level, brewers at Block 15 and Claim 52 then blended the beer with three carefully chosen barrels of wild ale maturing in the Block 15 cellar, ranging in years from 2013 to 2016. The result: a harmonious blend of young and old, and fruit and funk, which can be consumed fresh or cellared for a special occasion.

It’s got a lot going on for sure.

Appearance: Fizzy, minimal head leaving a ring around the glass of tight bubbles. Color is red with a violet tinge, a berry color, a bit hazy. Honey orange-pink color when held to the light.

Smell: Tart, fresh raspberries; bright, fresh and tangy. Jammy, full of fruit and juice, quite lovely actually.

Taste: Not nearly as tart or sour as expected, as the aroma would suggest. It’s earthy, a bit grainy in the body, and the berry flavors get tannic at the back of the palate. Tangy tartness caches the sides of the tongue and reminds me more of raspberry juice as it warms than sour beer. Not much in the way of any “wild” or farmhouse-like character to my taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body with some tannic dryness/astringency, tart finish on an earthy note.

Overall: Lovely aroma, berry jam flavors with some tannins and grainy notes. Pretty well done overall.