Last night I was able to experience the taste of the Elysian Space Dust IPA from the Elysian Brewing Company out of Seattle, Washington. What do I think of this India Pale ale?
Elysian Space Dust IPA Review
STATS:
- Brewed by Elysian Brewing Company
- Alcohol content: 8.2%
- Company description: The hopping is pure starglow energy, with Chinook to bitter and late and dry additions of Citrus and Amarillo.
- Ratings on Beeradvocate.com: 4.08/5 with 2,407 ratings - 'Exceptional'
Label
Let's face it, with the explosion of small breweries in the past 10-15 years the customer is able to choose from a wide range of beverages. While this is a good thing, it does leave us guessing when we approach that wall of bottles. One way to grab a potential sale is to have a funny name and/or label art.
With this Elysian recipe, the name is good but the art is out of this world. It looks like a space artichoke (I know its a hop, don't give me any grief) happily throwing up tiny little versions of itself in a soup of space sparkles.
Twinkle, twinkle little star takes a new meaning here. Go to sleep my child, daddy has a new beer to try.
The Details
Appearance: When released from the bottle (or should I say spaceship?), it pours easily into a cloudy orange-amber color. It has very little in the way of carbonation and so the head is minimal.
Smell: The first and most obvious hit is an orange citrus. After that first whiff, you can sense other fruit smells in the air but I was hard-pressed to name any single one in particular. It was like walking down the fruit section in the grocery store - a bit of everything.
Taste: No surprise here, but the inital flavor is of orange. After a few more sips I certainly tasted grapefruit. I don't know if it was actual grapefruit, or just the way the bitter Chinook melds with the orange. Either way, the sides of the tip of my tongue felt the fruit flavor, while the back of my tongue got the hit of the grapefruit-like bitterness.
Mouthfeel: It is a thin, dry, and light beer. The minimal amount of carbonation only teases the tongue with fleeting hints of bubbles.
Drinkability: Without much carbonation in the way, this goes down easy. Watch out though! With the 8.2% ABV it can come up and hit you pretty fast. After downing my bottle of 1 pint, 6oz I was feeling a decent buzz setting in.
Verdict
I have to appreciate the way they were able to make me feel alright drinking a fruit bitter beer as it is not normally my flavors of choice.
Would I get it again? Probably not, but only because it is just not my style. However, if a grapefruit-esque flavor is your thing you will most likely enjoy this offering.
Agreed on your assessment. Glad I tried it. Noticed great reviews but not one I would go out of my way to drink again.
Hey, glad I nailed the review then - thanks for reading!
I've had this one before, pretty decent. I love IPA's and Pale Ale's my go to breweries are normally Half Acre, Lagunitas and 3 Floyyds, however always up to try something new and interesting. I saw Half Acre came out with a new one recntly have been meaning to stop by the brewery and give it a taste.
I visited this brewery (or perhaps just the taproom where they serve as I did not see any brewing equipment) on my last trip to Seattle, for PAX Prime.
I thought they had some pretty good brews there, although I do not remember trying this one. Will have to give it a shot.
Nice review! Very comprehensive and you hit all the right spots. Thanks for posting, love beer and love beer reviews. Upvoted.
Hey, thanks! Nothing better than drinking it straight from the source. :D
Great review, I really like you layout and description. I am not a hoppy fan, IPAs are low on my beer tasting palette but I have tried this beer. I would generally agree with what you said, I don't think I rated it that high on Untappd, probably a 3 or less and like you I would not drink it again. I also do some beer reviews but I need to work on my presentation. I appreciate being able to read yours.
Yeah, the layout is a big deal. I still suck at photos, but I'll learn that too. Glad we were pretty close on our assessment of this one.
If you get a chance checkout my beer posts and let me know what you think I could do to improve them. Thanks.
I have heard great things about this brewery, even after they were purchased by InBev/Anheiser Busch. One would think that the quality or uniqueness may become diminished after their brand was purchased but I've heard only positive things - the brewery has been given full creative license and runs just as before. And because of InBev's marketing and access prowess, we have even been getting Elysian here in Chicago, which is great, they have some solid brews!
I'll have to try and find a flavor from Elysian that I might enjoy more than this one. It wasn't bad, just not my style.
That's a nice review, and what a great combination of hops, too bad the carbonation is low, I think for this kind of beer you want to keep the carbonation decent enough to create and maintain some foam. I feel lucky to live in Europe and have access to lots of breweries, but you guys in the US are living the life, over 3,000 micro-breweries and growing. Good stuff!
You guys had the beer flavor for decades, we are just trying to catch up after throwing off our beer-conglomerate overlords!
I would like a cold one too
Go get one!
Ohh I wonder about it. I want to find it and taste immediately. 3.25 is enough point but not good. Let's try it!
Give it a shot - it's not bad just not my style
Ok I will try it if I can find.
Have you tried Portuguese beer? is one of the best beers you can ever taste, at least in my honest opinion, you should try it sometime
Well, I had a bunch of Sagres at Steemfest. Probably the other main one too, but which Portuguese beer are you talking about?
Both Sagres and Superbock are good, i prefer super bock though
I hope steemfest is held in portugal again, need to get my country educated on cryptos
Yes! Superbock was the other one!
Oh, I wouldn't bet on it being there again. They like to change up the countries so to see new stuff.
So... what was your opinion on our beer? 6/5 xD? Be warned that you might end up with 1 less folower if your answer is wrong 😂 😂
:( i wasn't a steemian when the steemfest was held... damn, guess i need to save some money for next year xD
Keep steemin' and you can save it up!
The beer was good, I kept going back for more! haha :D
Our beer was that good...you are safe this time 😈😈
I'll keep on steemin, i'm having lots of ideas for new content, might need to make a petition to increase the amount of hours a day has in order to do them all xD
I haven't tasted it before but i know it will be great,but i think you shoul have a taste of Nigerian breweries beer you can now compare.
Which Nigerian brew(s) should I try?
Star radler its a fruity beer
Always found IPA to be of an acquired taste, but damn, that packaging looks good!
Hey @aldentan, how you been man? Yeah, kinda just go with what catches my eye when Iam in the mood for something new and this certainly stood out.
I am good man!
Honestly, I don't order craft beer anymore. I mean sure, it tastes great the first bottle, but I'd choose to stick for something cheaper for the rest of the night.
Yeah, after the first one or two it matters less and less. Except for Natty light. I will never drink that stuff again!
ahahaha...I like the way you describe it. But how come almost all beers have the same colour? but if they start making red, green, yellow, and other beer colors?
Well, on St. Patricks Day they have been known to put in green food coloring! Otherwise, I have drunk beers that are red or yellow. Lot's of American beers are yellow because they are 'piss' :D
Budweiser posing as micro! Don't give them anymore of your money.
I didn't even realize it was owned by Bud until @bradlovesbeer mentioned it.
I'm not sure if this beer is available in my area, but from your description is sounds like something I would like a lot. I love IPAs and especially appreciate a strong citrus vibe in my beer. I like a nice balance of sweet and sour!
Hey, sure sounds like its up your alley. I guess this brewery is owned bt Bud, so anywhere along their distribution lines. I got this one at Sprouts Market
Hey, I was out at a burger pub last night and I saw the poster for this very beer on the wall, complete with the stardust-blowing hops character and sure enough, they had it on tap! It was very good, nice and citrusy but still with good body and not skunky or anything. However, I think I would limit myself to one per night because I believe the ABV level was something like 8%! Good thing I was having a burger with it!
Interesting it is owned by Bud. That doesn't endear it to me any further, but I don't think it would stop me from getting it again. I'll order Bud products at bars when I'm pinching my pennies, but I when I'm out I mostly stick to beers from a large, local brewery here in my city called Boulevard. I'm also not above enjoying a PBR from time to time!
Yea, that 8.2% is certainly at a much higher level than most beers. To me, that is a benefit though - haha.
Glad you enjoyed it and have another favorite to be on the lookout for.
I see this beer for the first time. I can not wait to try this beer.
Good post. Its nice information for the steemians. Thanks for sharing.