As I previously stated on my Twitter I have a full line up prepared for my next few Brewviews and I am very excited for the selections I have made. Though I must thank my beautiful wife, Kim, for the suggestions she made! ❤ To start off this new round of Brewviews I have decided to do 42 North’s Pre-Emption IPA. Pre-Emption is a New England style IPA that has been limited in its release, so I am thankful I was able to obtain some of these beers before they quickly disappeared. With that being said I must give another thanks to my friend Bill who notified me of a shipment and the location at which I was able to find this highly coveted beer. I’ve had a few New England IPAs and if you haven’t noticed I’m sure that you will, here on the East Coast they are becoming quite popular. If I am not mistaken I believe five breweries from Buffalo have done a batch of this style and they tend to leave the shelves quickly.
Well I think that is all I have to say for the introduction, let’s dive in and see what we get.
The Beer: Pre-Emption by 42 North Brewing Company
ABV: 6.7% IBU: 55
Hop Profile: Galaxy
Azacca
Denali
Mosaic
Malt Profile: I was unable to find
Before I open this beer, I would like to give a shout out to my friend Brian from Buffalo Beer Reviews on Youtube. He also has done a review for Pre-Emption, so please after concluding with my blog take some time to check out his video.
Alright, back to Pre-Emption! Just looking at the hops used in this beer I am expecting some intense fruity aromas as well as some slight dank aroma. Flavor wise I am not expecting that much difference from the aromas. My main thought for the flavor is that it will be strong in mango and citrus.
Mmm!! You can smell this beer from a good distance away even with it still in the can. Once you pour it is only strengthened. Aroma wise I was correct, though it seems to have more of a tropical characteristic. Primarily a citrus, mango, and I’m even sensing some pineapple to it. As much as I thought the beer would have a stronger dank aroma to it, I’m not picking up too much of it. If anything it makes a slight appearance, maybe with a minuscule pine accent to it. A majority if not all the hops used in the brewing process do have aromatic contributions to them, so it will be quite difficult to pin point each aroma with the coinciding hop. But I will give it the good old college try! In an attempt to not be too general all the hops have a fruity aroma to them. But if I were to guess the tropical fruit aromas are provided by the Mosaic and Azacca hops. The slight pineapple touch I mentioned earlier I am going to attribute to the Denali hops as well as the pine. Last but not least, the Galaxy hops are the main contributor for the danky aromas that I thought were going to be stronger. Though I am not complaining at all, this is an excellent compilation of the hops and the aromas they can create. I’ve had beers that misled you by the aromatic hops used and left you disappointed by the actual aroma created.
Moving onto appearance.
This beer is exactly what I expected when it comes to being hazy. Hazy through out the entire glass, I am unable to see anything through this beer. Besides being hazy, the head on this beer is perfect and maintaining the entire time it is taking me to write this blog. The color of this beer is typical for a New England IPA, golden straw colored.
So far this beer is spot on for being a New England IPA. Let’s move onto the final part, flavor!
As I go to take my first sip, the aromas are excellent at building the anticipation! First impression for flavoring is pure pineapple and with tropical notations to it. Now I know I can’t stop there so let’s take some time to enjoy this beer right and dive deeper. The second sip I am able to notice some other flavors, those being mango, pine and even some dankiness. Hmm, where do all these flavors come from? Let’s investigate. Again, the dankiness you can attest to the Galaxy hops. The pine I am thinking the Azacca as well the Denali hops, both known contributors of pine and pine needle flavors. And I am sorry for the generalization I am about to make, but all the fruit flavors I am tasting can be attributed to all the hops, Galaxy, Azacca, Denali, and Mosaic. Though I’m going to go out on a limb and place more emphasis on the Azacca and Mosaic hops for the fruit flavors. In previous beers with these hops I am noticing some similarities with Pre-Emption and the flavors I am picking up on. If I am to be honest, which life is too short not to be, after watching Brian’s video I agree with his thoughts on the beer having a slightly watered down taste to it. With that being said, I have had a limited number of NEIPAs under my belt. With my limited experience though I can confidently say this beer does have that consistency to it. Now in my mind this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does give it more of a refreshing notation. I’m thinking this beer would be more enjoyable in the summer not when I am surrounded by snow.
Thinking about the IBU rating of 55, not bad. I am getting a slight bite in the end with some after taste to it. Though this after taste does not seem to be one that will ruin my next beer of choice. If anything it just lingers around giving you something to sit on before your next sip. I do enjoy a beer with some bitterness to it and this beer has that, it’s almost like a congratulations for picking such a delicious beer.
All in all this beer was refreshing and will not be hard to finish. I’m thinking I would get this beer again if I had the option, though I would choose a traditional IPA first. That’s just me though and I know there are other beer drinkers out there with different tastes. I do take that into consideration when doing these blogs, even with beers that I would not choose as my first option. It would’nt be fair otherwise with all the different styles of beer out there. All things considered this beer is going to receive a 4.25/5 from me. More so for the refreshing characteristic of it and the fun combination of hops used. Excellent choice 42 North!!!
I have plenty more Brewviews coming with my line up already constructed please keep an eye out for more in the upcoming days. Please, please, please give my friend Brian a few moments of your time and check out his Youtube reviews at Buffalo Beer Reviews, your support means a lot to us!
Cheers to 42 North! Here’s another one for the books!
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