Beer Review: Ekuanot Astronaut (BAREbottle Brewing Co.)
Have you ever had a beer and think “man, I wish I had gotten another bottle“? No? Well, I certainly have and it always seems to happen to the beers I don’t expect to be amazing. Then again, and, to be fair, Barebottle tends to make the beers that raise this question. My brain must have been on the dark side of the moon the day I ordered this. Lesson learned!
The Beer
Beer: Ekuanot Astronaut
Brewery: BAREbottle Brewing Co.
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 9.7%
IBU: N/A
Untappd Description: “One of our favorite discoveries from spaceship Earth, Ekuanot continues to amaze. A tropical citrus hop supernova in a rocket-sized hazy double IPA.“
Enjoy In: Teku, IPA Glass, Moon Rock
Enjoy At: 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit
The Review
Disclaimer: I genuinely love this beer and brewery. This review contains biased opinion.
Let’s be honest, the list above is not something casual homebrewers will be able to duplicate. Most of it is because of equipment and the unique yeast strains that Barebottle has access to. Barebottle seemingly throws out all the stops when they create their beer. You could say that this beer is simply stratospheric in its scope of ingredients. “You” could say that, but then you’d be hassled for a bad pun (wait, isn’t that what brewers are good at?) Fortunately we all live in a world where breweries like Barebottle exist and brew beers like Ekuanot Astronaut.
Starting at the top, the bright white foamy head is loose and in spite of that, remains persistent. It leaves a faint lacing on the glass. The first sip usually tells you how the rest of the story is supposed to go. Usually. With IPA’s you’ll get bitter, citrus, or pine notes at first and the flavor can mellow depending on the brewery. With Double IPA’s the experience is typically a little different. With Ekuanot Astronaut, the head was absent from the taste profile, which I found surprising and welcome. There was a full, deep, citrus experience that washed over my taste buds and put me in the fast lane to Flavortown. Population: Ekuanot Astronaut!
9.7%. Sounds a bit lofty, but in truth, this ABV felt like just a number. Yes, it is a tall order to drink a 9.7% beer in one sitting, but never once did Ekuanot come across super heavy. Instead it behaved more like a Saturn V rocket, breaching the atmosphere, effortlessly. Why can’t more beer be like this?
By now your eyes might start to glaze over at the number of times “Ekuanot” has been mentioned, so perhaps I should give a little explanation as to what this little hop is best known for. The hop formerly known as “Equinox” is typically used as a finishing hop. You can expect flavors to be papaya, berry, sage, clove, cedar, apple, and melon to name a few. For any homebrewers reading this, Ekuanot has respectably high oil content (namely myrcene and humulene), so consider its use in the whirlpool – should you have one – or when dry-hopping.
This was a delicious brew that was consumed after a rather distasteful day at work. Maybe that’s why this particular beer tasted so great or why my spirits were sent into orbit upon first taste. I don’t know, but space puns, am I right?
My Untappd Score: ****-1/2
Global Rating: 4.07 (as of 10/17/19)
PROST!
J.Doncevic
