The Brew Kettle White Rajah

So, after that sweet elixir, my tongue needed the blatant bitterness of hops to tame it. Ok, yes, I would have just as easily settled for a glass of equally-teeth-stripping big, fat, luscious, dry-as-hell cabernet sauvignon. But we're here to review beer, not wine. And have I mentioned yet that I picked up a six-pack of White Rajah, which hit shelves recently?

Now, I do believe we have professed our undying loyalty to The Brew Kettle, located in Strongsville, Ohio. And this is one of my favorite brews of theirs. I look forward to it hitting craft beer shelves annually. Yep, it's an IPA. You may now locate your surprised face and don it immediately.

It pours a clear medium golden color with a light, white head. And the nose? Oh, did you ask about the aroma? Because I'm going to tell you anyway. Sweet Hopsus, the aroma. The most lovely mixture of grapefruit and pine wafts up through my olfactory nerves, sending my brain into a state of eternal bliss. Or at least twelve ounces of sheer bliss. There are also some tropical fruit notes and some bready malts that hit that old olfactory nerve. So now that I'm already in an altered state merely from the aroma, let's taste this and see how that goes. And because this is The Brew Kettle, and this is White Rajah, of course it's just as good as it smells. Grapefruit, some pine, some pineapple, maybe just a tinge of papaya, some light malt characteristics, and then a lovely dry finish with a very faint sweetness in the aftertaste, almost like toffee, comes through. I love the roller coaster of this brew. The mouthfeel on this is insanely creamy for a perfectly carbonated IPA.

Can you read the center of the label, the middle of the Union Jack, right under the word "Rajah"? It says, "Taming the savage hop." Indeed, The Brew Kettle has. And damn, this is a fine beer.

Just a reminder, The Brew Kettle is a brew-on-premise facility. Meaning that if you so desire, you can brew your own version of this. We're attending my cousin's wedding near Strongsville in a couple of weeks, and I would love to see if they have an open kettle then, but the wedding is the day before Mother's Day. Sigh. It'll be a quick trip up and back to Columbus that day. Hopefully we'll at least have time and such to swing by the brewpub for some of this on tap. If you would like to reserve your own brew kettle and make your own libation (using your own recipe or one of theirs), call (440) 239-8788.

4.8/5 caps

-Jennie

So, as the First Priestess of Hopsus stated, this is Brew Kettle's White Rajah. This was highly anticipated and sold out quickly last year. It is still like that today, only we were able to find it, unlike Doom (insert internet meme of grumpy cat saying something along to lines of "I couldn't find a rare beer today"). Regardless, We have a good beer, we're working on artwork for friends and family. I have gauze in my armpit. Shit, can things get better?

The color, yes it's actually poured in a glass, is SWEET FUCKING HOPSUS BITCHCAT! STOP CROP DUSTING US! Sorry, my personal Edward (HST reference) is crop dusting us. I'm not sure if it's the Tuna & Egg canned food that Jennie decided would be a brilliant idea for the cats (despite it giving Thatcher gas the last time they had it), or if it was BitchCat eating the refried beans that fell on the floor as I was making dinner. Regardless, I have a beer review to be doing, that was I can get back to this painting for my Brother From Another Mother.

The color is an ambery straw color, completely clear, with a small amount of white head. The nose is Grapefruit, pine, tropical fruit, nose in the beer, and some light malt. The taste is... Huh. Baby, Don't you forget about me. Don't, don't, don't, don't. Don't you forget about me. Will you stand above me? Look my way, never love me, rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling down, down, down, down. Will you recognize me, Call my name, or walk on by, rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling down, down, down, down. Most of you will recognize that as an epic song from the 80's by Simple Minds. That's how this beer is for me. Epic and a hell of a closer. The taste is a pungent hop bitterness up front that fades, but returns on the back end. And I just noticed I have an off bottle. This is different than the one Jennie is drinking, despite being out of the same 6-pack. I noticed there's a dank- earthy tone to mine, that isn't the same as Jennie's. Bizzaro. Regardless, I'll put the dankness and earthy tones aside, as I know how this tastes (it's been 'purchase when we can find it' brew for a year now).

So, as mentioned, there's a pungent hop assault upfront that fades into the grapefruity, piney, tropical fruity tones that you got in the nose. Then the trap door opens, killing the middle and leading to a full blown arsenal of bitterness toward the back end, with resiny mess sticking to everything it touches, much like the superglue that has stuck my pinky and ring fingers on my left hand together. Oh, if only I wasn't too lazy to go to the medicine cabinet and get the nail polish remover to cure my current ailment, but alas, my lethargy will leave me here in the vintage leather computer chair, with fingers stuck together, contemplating the 'ifs and whats' of the world. The mouthfeel on the beer is medium and very sticky, as previously stated. Enjoyable for any hop head.

So, after making Gaseous Maximus a shoulder cat (see picture) for staring at me weird, I will end this review and get back to my artwork with saying this- even an off bottle of this- still enjoyable.

4.75/5 caps

-Nathan