Humble Forager Frosty Winter Double IPA: Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Strata

Humble Forager Frosty Winter Double IPA: Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Strata.

8 % ABV. Humble Forager Brewery, Waunakee, WI. 

And here we have a Humble Forager beer that I might have bought with my own money, if it wasn't given to me for free. No mention of hazy, or New England, or DDH (not that I won't find out that it is once I crack 'er open.) No marshmallows or pastry or sour or seltzer. From everything we can see on this label, it seems that we are promised a normal beer. Could this truly turn out to be true? Let us find out...

to they eye: Oh, it's all hazed up all right. They can't not do it. Dull yellow. Large, bright white head. 

In the nose: Oooh, nice. Beautiful blend of citrus and pine notes. White wine notes enter in as well. 

In the mouth: Slightly fuzzy/yeasty/hazy. All kinds of gunk. Why doesn't anyone else want a clean IPA, I tells ya, yelling at the cloud. Full of hoppy flavors, but muddled up in the muck. 

See the problem is that I only check the front. 

On the side we read: "Our winter version of hazy DDH Double IPA is brewed with winter wheat, a dash of oats and a blend of base malts. Loads of hops were packed into the whirlpool throughout the fermentation and conditioning phase. This IPA boasts huge hop aromas and flavors of zippy citrus, dank kush, rich mango, and Bartlett pears. Take an adventure with us at www.humbleforagerbrewery.com. THINK GLOBALLY FORAGE LOCALLY LIVE HUMBLY DRINK ADVENTUROUSLY"

And the booze comes forth. And it's smooth and ....ugh..."pillowy"...with generous citrus and tropical tones to play on the palate. It's tasty, sure, but I'm still blasé' on the hazies. Don't see me stopping on that one. 

Humble Forager Voyager's Getaway Imperial Pastry Porter

Humble Forager Voyager's Getaway Imperial Pastry Porter. Marshmallow, vanilla beans, cacao nibs, coconut. 

12 % ABV. Humble Forager Brewing Company, Waunakee, WI. 

This beer has several strikes against from the start. First, it is called a "pastry porter", and second, it contains marshmallows. But, it's from Forager, or, more precisely, Humble Forager, and I decided to forgive it and give it a go. Here we go. 

Splendidly dark, fully opaque, slim to no head at all. 

In the nose: Sweetness in abundance. Nibs are in play, coconut is coming loose, there's a stroke of vanilla, and is that sweet, sticky marshmallow up in there? By golly, it is. 

In the malt: Gooey sweets start it off, richness in extremus. No hops to speak of, and the adjuncts have overcome any of the malt flavors that you should normally pick up in a porter, imperial or otherwise. But, pastry, however, that's another thing. The book's thrown out. Cocoa and coconut are king here, and balance is long gone and deserted. Then marshmallow mucks it all up. If you're looking for indulgence without purpose, here it is. 

And the alcohol starts it's assault. Body feels full at first, but is not hefty enough to support the indulgent flavorings and the huge alcohol. 

If you can read between the lines, you might find the attributes of an extreme beer that you're looking for. I'm certainly not telling one and all to stray far from this creation, but the word is out that it is certainly not for me. 

A well-built structure of specialty malts floats atop a bed of flavors reminiscent of vanilla cream-filled chocolate cake, covered with marshmallows and coconut. Coconut from Indonesia, vanilla from Papua New Guinea, and cocoa nibs from Uganda will ripple across your palate from this imperial pastry porter.

Well, here's the problem with this. The "well-built structure of specialty malts" does not float atop the bed of flavors, it is swallowed up by them. The malts should be the "bed", the flavors should float atop of them. Everyone should know this. 

Humble Forager Elevated Perspective ddh imperial oat ipa

Humble Forager Elevated Perspective (V.3) ddh imperial oat ipa. Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, Citra. 

Double NE IPA. 8% ABV. Humble Forager Brewery, Madison, WI. 

It has, alas been two years since Forager beers have appeared here in the Nib, because it's been that long since I've been there. Since then, I've managed to taste some at a friend's house, and at holiday gatherings when my nephew brings some from Rochester. But now, we have Humble Forager, brewed in Wisconsin from recipes crafted by Forager owner Austin Jevne. At last, because Minnesota will not allow brewpubs, which Forager Brewing is, to distribute their wares to retail outlets, they have had to go over the state border in order to ship beer back here. Sigh...

So, I saw my first cans recently, and was let down by the price. Again, $18-20 and up for 4 packs of 16 ounce cans, for most. More, for others. Is it worth it? I broke my vow to avoid the high priced beers just to answer that question, and let's start with this one...

Highly hazed, bright golden hue, slim white head. 

In the nose: citrus aplenty, with additional notes of grapes, tropical tones, a bit of stone fruit. Soft and fruity. 

In the mouth: Brief bitter bite up front, then it's nothing but smooth. Large payload delivery of soft fruity associations. Again, stone, citrus, grapes, melon. Quite delicious, with alcohol rising up surely. Hop bitterness is nearly non-existent, but the flavors are bountiful. Medium-bodied, easy drinking, but for the booze. A dream to drink down. 

Quite a nice NE DIPA, but I'd prefer more bitterness. Just me. I'll keep trying out their beers, of course, but not as often, due to reaction to their prices. 

This imperial IPA is brewed with a large percentage of oats, for a soft and pillowy mouthfeel. Citra hops in the whirlpool add citrus and fruity tones, while two separate dry hop additions of Citra, Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin create a bouquet of tropical juice, floral and stone fruit flavors.