Neon God – New Anthem Beer Project – Wilmington, NC

American IPA, 6.6%ABV

Malt bill: pale, oats, wheat, C20
Hops bill: Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic; double-dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic.
Brewed with Lactose.

Neon God is one of New Anthem’s popular “milkshake IPAs”: a hazy New England-style IPA brewed with lactose.

It pours to a medium pebbly off-white head on a turbid, golden body; lacing consists of moderate bands, splotches and dots. The aroma is medium in intensity: a tasty blend of pineapple, grapefruit, and candylike notes, backed by hints of tamarind and slight alcohol overtones.

Up front, the palate is modestly bitter, faintly grassy candied grapefruit, with a hint of the shallow sweetness of lactose; mid-palate, some other lighter citrus notes emerge, and the pineapple peeks out, as does the tamarind and a hint of caramel maltiness. The lactose is a bit more notable, but is still less obvious than it usually is. The grassiness becomes a bit more apparent as well. Modest alcohol undertones. The finish is a fairly quick, slight hit of caramel and grapefruit, and the linger is a modest piney bitterness with a hint of residual lactose. Retrogustative olfaction is modestly grassy/citrusy.

Mouthfeel is a bit bigger than the light/medium body would predict, and is notably smooth, quite creamy, and moderately peppery from the well-expressed carbonation.

This is another great example of New Anthem’s skill with the “milkshake” IPA sub-style. Thanks to the oats, the mouthfeel matches the aesthetics of the beer. I’m always looking forward to another batch of this crowd-pleaser.

(16 oz can, just released)