Beer Review: I Voted for Kodos (Second Sin Brewing Company)
As with everything, if I can push the blame off me (yet still take credit when I can), I will… so let me be the first to say: I voted for Kodos (Kodos Johnson to be exact), so you can’t blame me.
In one of the funniest bits from The Simpsons as a whole, and from the various Treehouses of Horror, the Citizen Kang segment from Treehouse of Horror VII. For the uninitiated, Kang and Kodos are aliens (Rigellians) from the planet Rigel 7. They appear (sometimes as main segments, sometimes as just cameos) in every Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons. The episodes; especially through the first years; are humorous parodies and looks at different horror movies, thrillers, or cultural cues. In later years they’ve begun to parody just about anything popular at the time.
Each Treehouse of Horror episode is broken down into three segments or acts. In Citizen Kang (which is the third act of Treehouse of Horror VII – season 8), Kang and Kodos abduct Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and basically steal their identity and ‘body snatch’ them and replace them with themselves. This ends up leaving people with no real chance of voting, because…. who can vote third party? (Sorry Ross Perot.)
Should you ever see two combatant politicians hold hands as they walk around town… you should immediately know something is up. Could you imagine Donald Trump and Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton holding hands? Or Bush Jr and Al Gore? Or anyone with Putin? Not likely. So always be leery and on the lookout for tell tale signs like this. Also – if your politician tells you that you need to always be twirling… twirling… twirling towards freedom…. most likely he’s an alien in disguise… or a former cheerleader and gymnast who got stuck at a podium and is crying out for help.
Having grown up on a steady diet of Simpsons and pop culture and now in my fast becoming late 30s (le sigh) once I heard of these two beers being released (I Voted for Kodos and I Voted for Kang) by Second Sin Brewing Company; I got all the feels and the nostalgia and member-berries and had to have them. Like all of the Star Wars beers I’ve reviewed, I had to also get ahold of these to review as well. Luckily, from the brewery itself, I was alerted to the fact that there’s a Facebook group for Second Sin Brewing called Disciples of Second Sin. Since it was unlikely I would make it to Bristol PA before they were sold out, I was trying to trade / buy from someone who lived in the area and could ship or bring closer, and luckily Steve Orbanek contacted me with the hookup. So big shout out to him and major props and huge thank you’s go to Steve Orbanek for the hookup and to Second Sin Brewing for alerting me to the group.
When I got home from my Indy trip, the package was on my doorstep which was all the cooler as a nice return gift. Steve even threw in a third beer for me (for free) for a future beer review, so I’ll keep you all in suspense and just say that you all will get a bonus beer review soon thanks to Steve.
Second Sin Brewing Company is a micro brewery from Bristol Pennsylvania. According to Untappd they have 138 unique beers and a global average rating of 4.07 (as of 11.26.20). Their Untappd description is blank.
Beer: I Voted for Kodos
Brewery: Second Sin Brewing Company
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 6.7%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: I Voted For Kang and I Voted For Kodos, conceptually, are like two peas in a pod. They both started with the same base of 2 row malt, Malted Oats, and light Crystal. Both are supported with Galaxy and Idaho 7 hops to round out their flavor profiles.
However, don’t let anyone tell you that these candidates are the same…oh, no. Kang is primarily hopped with the tropical and fruity Citra, while Kodos is loaded with dank and melony Mosaic.
Steve was kind of enough to trade me both I Voted for Kodos and I Voted for Kang; so be on the lookout soon for the second of these two reviews (as well as the bonus beer that Steve sent). I started with Kodos (primarily just for the “don’t blame me I voted for Kodos” line).
Appearance is a very golden New England IPA look, hazy, opaque, no sediment, bright golden brew. This looks like a slightly darker and heavier looking orange juice. It has a foamy, creamy, white head, with great carbonation, and varied and diverse bubbles; and left a beautiful lacing on the glass.
Aroma is a bouquet of hops, a buffet of hoppy smells, like diving your nose right into a bag of the good stuff. The galaxy, Idaho 7, and Mosaic hops create a wonderful hop aroma, heavy, dank, melon, some grapefruit, stone fruit, some citrus, and a whiff of pine. Some peach, some passionfruit rounds out the cornucopia of hop aromas and mouth watering smell.
Now lets get to the fun part of this… drinking this beauty. And hmmmmm is this tasty. It is a dank, juicy, New England IPA, with a lot going for it. It has an interesting mild ‘spice’ kick, subtle, but you get it as you drink, its an interesting note that adds to the beer. The primary flavors though come from the blend of hops used – Galaxy, Idaho 7, and Mosaic. Strong flavors of the stone and tropical fruits, a heavy dose of peach and passionfruit, light grapefruit notes (which could also provide a bit of the kick too), and the faintest lingering taste of sticky pine and a small dollop of earthy notes and tones (faint, ever so faint, but slightly discernible). This is a smooth drinking beer too. It has just the right mouthfeel and texture, and slick and smoothness to the drink. A four pack of this could easily be crushed sitting out, or mowing, or reading, or hanging out with friends, or even sitting around a campfire. At 6.7% its a good buzz inducing beer that won’t knock you right out either, so its perfect to sit around with friends or mowing. The hop blend is really wonderful here, the peach, to passionfruit, to citrus, to melon, and melon rinds, with the hint of grapefruit, pine, wee bit of kick at the finishing touches, leaves a great taste in your mouth, and makes this just a delicious brew all around. This was my first beer by Second Sin Brewing, and I am totally sold by them, and can see why they have a 4+ average rating. This is smooth, silky, nice mouthfeel, not watery, hoppy, dank, juicy, and with a blasting amount of flavors. This is just a well crafted beer through and through.
My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 4.19 (as of 11.26.20)
Thank you everyone for taking the time out on Turkey Day – Thanksgiving – to give this a read. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, either with friends, family, or with your own small(er) gathering this year. This is certainly a different Thanksgiving for most of us than we’ve been used to. It has been quite the challenge this year, but hopefully everyone can stay safe, healthy, and have a happy Thanksgiving, as we push towards the end of the year and the merrier time of the year.
Cheers everyone!
-B. Kline
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For more info on Kodos:
