Red Rock Super Ape and Fisher Fresh Hop IPAHoptimal Impact 

• Mike Riedel

Red Rock - Super Ape: The appearance is straight-up New England-style IPA, with a murky, golden-orange color and plenty of big, sticky lacing. I can smell it wafting up from the glass—very intense citrus, sweet and tangy tropical notes and a bit of strawberry. The malt gives off a lightly-honeyed pale pilsner aroma. As time goes on, tropical red fruits pop out, providing a Hawaiian Punch edge to the hops.

Toasty malted barley hits with a dense, wildly tropical, citrus and herbal punch, with some strawberry tones coming from this brilliant hop combo. It's quite the juicy/fruity atomic bomb of hops, with a never-ending burst of fresh, green lupulin from the cones or pellets. The body makes it smooth, with a hefty, malty medium-body and feel. Lush layers of fruit emerge, while the subtle but warming 8.2 percent alcohol and long malty effect really make it complex. The result is juicy and malty in the finish, but maybe a bit slick.

Verdict: Super Ape is absolutely a great DIPA and a great example of the style. It hits most of the key points: juicy, soft and big on flavor/aroma. I do wish there were more of the "dank" (ie. more pungency/bitterness) aspect as in the description, which I think would add more flavor and balance. The only real issue I had was the occasional "off" flavor, which I assume was the yeast. Great stuff, though, and easily on par with the best in the market.

Fisher - Fresh Hop IPA: It pours a hazy, fresh-squeezed orange juice color, with some amber hues as well. Some light does penetrate, though, so I feel comfortable calling this "hazy." An aggressive pour yields a finger of white, creamy head that hangs around forever. The nose is very citrus-forward, showcasing lots of orange, grapefruit, pomelo, some key lime zest, mango, melon, green pineapple and sweet honey malt. It definitely has that Fisher backbone on the nose. When swirled around, it releases some earthier, grassier notes.

On the palate, there's an immediate tangy acidic zing, which when paired with the initial blast of hoppy orange flavor, really conveys itself as citrus—specifically, juicy orange pulp, with a little bit of grapefruit bitterness and lots of ripe mango in the mix as well. The bitterness, which is fairly tame but quite tannic and drying, comes in rather early, bringing with it these wonderful fresh green notes. The fruit flavors persist well into the finish until finally lifting off, leaving the greener, earthier notes to spread out. A good bit of pine lingers in the finish as well. The overall malt backbone is very tame, and not remotely as honey-sweet as the nose might lead you to believe. It's mostly dry, with the perfect touch of sweetness to balance everything out. Mouthfeel on this one is a little less soft than some other offerings, with more aggressive carbonation. I like that this is lighter and airier, because it really lends itself to that tangy citrus feel, and allows the beer to stay refreshing, despite its 6.5 percent ABV.

Verdict: This is a fantastic display of fresh hops with a nice New England twist. When I think Fisher, I think classic West Coast IPAs. This has all those citrus and piney flavors, but with a huge reduction and shift in malt, for a different feel and a fruitier approach.

This is the third fresh/wet hop to come from Fisher this season, and it's their only fresh-hopped IPA. It's packaged in a 16-ounce can, and should be enjoyed now, not later, only available at Fisher. Super Ape is part of Red Rock's ever-increasing line of Double IPAs (number four) and is also in a 16-ounce can. You can find it at all of Red Rock's locations. As always, cheers!