New Albanian Brewing Naughty Girl

This is a new brewery to us, and a new brew to Ohio... and the rest of the world. It was brewed once in collaboration with the Louisville Brew Store and De Struise Brouwers. The New Albanian Brewing Company is based out of New Albany, Indiana, and getting a fair amount of recognition in the craft beer world. I would guess our New Albany neighbors to our west are somewhere down along the Kentucky border. I was taken in with the name, and the fact that it's a blonde IPA. It tickles the seedy underpinnings of my soul. It brings a mischievous twinkle to my eye and I feel even more self-righteous drinking it since I recently went platinum blonde.

These fine collaborators were supposed to brew a Belgian IPA... until the brewers arrived and instead came up with this blonde IPA. Or so the bottle says. Either way, it has IPA in the name, so I'm down. Let's see how amazing this is.

It pours a medium golden color, slightly hazy, with a decent amount of white head. In the nose I pick up some banana and mango, and hints of a Belgian yeast strain. The aroma is pretty faint, though. Taking a sip, I pick up flavors of orange, mango, peppercorn, and the unmistakable Belgian yeast, which is not overwhelming, dryness from the hops, and then a late hit of banana esters. It feels pretty smooth going down, and finishes very dry.

I don't know that I'd classify it as an IPA, as the hop characteristics are so subtle they get kind of lost in the esters of the yeast. But they are noticeable in that they really dry out the finish, and they lend themselves to the citrus and fruity aromas and flavors. Thankfully, the yeast isn't overpowering. It's relatively mild, as is this beer overall. It's an interesting beer, and I'd suggest it if you want to expand your horizons. And if you can still find some.... this was selling pretty fast last week.

4.35/5 caps

-Jennie

Wow, how is one supposed to follow that? Well, let's try. I like the label, as it's a tattooed mermaid in a beer. How can you go wrong with that?

This pours a quasi-hazy golden orange color with decent amount of thick white head. This has had time to sit and warm up, and yet the head has not dissipated much. The aroma is interesting. It's spice, some citrus, banana, and something tropical, like mango. Definite tones of a Belgian yeast strain, but more like New Belgium's Belgo than a hefe strain. The flavor is, well, not quite as hoppy as I'd thought for the 69 IBUs this claims to have. It's a thick mouthfeel, like a smoothie, that gives way to a multitude of different flavors. This coaster of flavors starts off with orange, fading to mango, which gives way to some earthy tones from the hops, with some peppercorn popping in at different times with each sip. It finishes dry, and I now realize that I'm basically repeating and reiterating Jennie's review, because she described it to a T.

Definitely worth checking out, it's an experience, especially since it was brewed once, but don't expect a Belgian IPA like Belgo or Raging Bitch, expect more like a full flavored farmhouse with a Guinness-like mouthfeel.

4.2/5 caps

-Nathan