Brewview#19: Juice Caboose IPA by Flying Bison Brewing Company

Here we are back again with another Brewview from Flying Bison! I usually try not to write about the same brewery simultaneously one after another, but what can I say they are coming out with some amazing beers?!?! The beer for this one is another one of their Small Batch Series, Juice Caboose IPA. Depending upon where you look it is noted as a New England IPA and also simply as an IPA. Does it truly make a difference to me? Not at all and that is because I’ve had this beer several times and it is delicious. In such a way that it can be dangerous. Example, on my previous trip to the Flying Bison Brewery I found it quite difficult to leave and it happened to be on Juice Caboose’s release day. Thank you to Siobhan for what I’m sure was the easy task of providing me with reasons to stay a.k.a a full glass! Cheers

So what is Juice Caboose? Why not let Flying Bison give you an intro?

To quote Flying Bison

“A trainload of hops go into making this extremely hoppy, but very mildly bitter India Pale Ale brewed with US & Aussie hops to give the illusion of tropical & citrus juice.”

Truly an excellent build up for an even more excellent beer. Now before I go further I would like to say, though the words ‘extremely hoppy’ are used by no means is this beer a hop bomb. But still holds enough hop flavor to make it a refreshing, delicious, and crisp IPA. So let’s get this done!

The Beer: Juice Caboose by Flying Bison Brewery

ABV: 7.5% IBU: 45

Hop Profile: Amarillo

Citra

Cascade

Centennial

Galaxy

Ekuanot

Dr. Rudi

Malt Profile: Pale

Pilsner

Caramel

Wheat

Oats

Well, I’ve already given Juice Caboose a fair introduction I feel. So to avoid redundancy, why don’t we get down to business.

First off, aroma. This beer uses quite a few hops that are widely known for producing some excellent aromas. Certain aromas are common between the hops, others are known to be produced by one or two hops in this case. I’m thinking the Citra, Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo hops will provide us with some citrus, mango and grapefruit. While the Galaxy and Ekuanot will allow us to enjoy some papaya, fruit, as well as a pine/dank aroma.

So when I first cracked the bottle open, which has a fun design of a caboose ejecting a plethora of hops, I was hit with a very subtle aroma. Almost a fruit medley, with a stronger citrus tone. When poured into a glass, the subtle nature of the aroma remains but becomes more pronounced with a pine/dank aroma in place of the citrus but with the remaining fruit back ground. Looking at what I previously said, I am not at all surprised with the aromas appreciated. An excellent conglomeration, without any clashing. Some people just have a knack for brewing I guess.

Appearance wise, the Caboose is exactly as I expected it to be looking at some of the malts used. Specifically speaking, the Wheat and the Pilsner which from my experience I have noticed they produce the hazy appearance seen with the Caboose. I know the Pale Malts allow for a nice golden straw color, without the haze I’m sure that’s what we would be seeing.  For those who are looking for specifics, I would say this beer is a hazy dark straw color, like I said though without the haze I’m sure it would be a pale straw color.  Enough said here I feel, so what’s next??

Hmmm…..

The best part! Actually drinking the beer and experiencing what it tastes like. So as you can see from our hop profile as well as Flying Bison’s introduction, quite a bit of hops were used. But in my humble opinion, not in an overwhelming manner. Drinking this beer is quite easy, I mean I’ve gone through two bottles just writing this blog so far! I picked a good hobby one could say. In all seriousness, this beer can be quite complex but at the same time easy to enjoy. I suggest drinking this beer at a rate that you can truly enjoy and appreciate everything this beer has to offer. And if while doing this it takes more than one, so be it. So with each sip in the beginning I get citrus, some floral tones, and minor fruit flavors. But it doesn’t end there as it settles I get hit with some pine/dank  flavors that create a similar bitterness. Flying Bison does prelude by stating that a majority of the hops do not get boiled, so there isn’t as a strong a bitter bite as one would think. But then again the Caboose is assigned an IBU of 45 which I find myself easily agreeing with. Though the bitterness does kick in quickly, it doesn’t stay for the after party. There and then gone. So before I go on, because there is more, I would like to  bring the hops back to everyone’s attention. Quite similar to the aromatics, the flavors are easily found in the hops. The citrus, floral, and grapefruit notes I am awarding o the Centennial, Amarillo, Cascade, and Citra. I could even see some of the fruit flavors coming from some of these. But truly I’m  thinking the Galaxy and Ekuanot hops are the true culprit for the fruit flavors. Though Galaxy doesn’t end there it will also team up with the Dr. Rudi hops to create the excellent pine/dank combo.  Again such a complex but well balanced beer!

To conclude our flavor aspect there is one more item on the list, body. Overall I’m thinking this beer has a medium body with a refreshing creamy mouthfeel. The culprit of this would be the Wheat and Oat Malts. Though this will be my first known experience with Oats. Not too bad if I may say so myself.

So down to the last little bits….drum roll….Overall I truly do love this beer just as much as I love Flying Bison Brewing Company. Hands down Flying Bison is one of my favorite breweries for multiple reasons,  this beer is easily one of the examples why. Rating wise,  this beer is easily a 4.5 if not a 4.75, so why not round up. Boom, 4.75/5. Juice Caboose is train ride of deliciousness, refreshing hops flavors, and an enticing bitterness. To have just one, to me is truly a difficult task. I bought two six packs at the brewery and had to force myself to leave at least two bottles to complete this Brewview. A true testament to how delicious this beer is. I can’t say enough.

Thanks again Siobhan, my glass is never empty. Thanks Flying Bison for brewing such a delicious beer. And a final shout out to Brian from Buffalo Beer Reviews on Youtube who first introduced me to Juice Caboose. Juice Caboose was I believe one of his first reviews. So don’t take my word for how delicious the Caboose is, head over to Youtube and look Brian up.

Cheers!