Name: Resin
Brewery: Sixpoint (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
Style: IPA
ABV: 9.1%
Source: The Mule
Last Wednesday after work, I visited the Epic Beer HQ in Sylvia Park to catch the tail end of a tasting session that had started at midday.
Lets just say it’s a good thing I hadn’t been there since the beginning, because the ‘tail end’ lasted 5 hours and included countless incredible (and incredibly strong beers) like this one.
It’s always hard picking one to ‘do’ as my beer of the day when faced with a plethora of exotic brews that I might never see again, but the Resin won out for three reasons:
1) It came in a can.
Sure, it reminded me of a horrible energy drink at first, but the more I looked at it the more I liked. Cans are lighter, easier to chuck in your handbag (they also don’t make that shameful ‘clinking’ sound), and apparently more recyclable than bottles. I’ve actually noticed a few craft breweries putting their beer in cans recently (BrewDog with their Punk IPA for example) and, while I don’t see them ousting bottles any time soon, I reckon it could be a big thing in future.
2) It tasted delicious.
I expected an American Double IPA called ‘Resin’ to be way too bitter for me, but in fact it was actually really well balanced. The hops gave off loads of grapefruit and pine, but the syrupy malt backbone kept it all in check. Perfecto!
3) We had the best photos of this one:
Thanks to Luke, Kelly and Dave (aka The Beer Mule) for inviting me along. Best after-work beers ever!
Cans also mean that no light is able to pass through the bottle. Light can cause beers to become “skunked” and taste nasty. I quite like the idea of cans, but it would take a long time to get Joe public to reconcile beer in cans with anything other than cheap beer…
Cans are soooooo much better for the beer. I have had some truly fantastic low strength English beers in cans that would usually be skunky and oxidised after traveling the length of the earth and hanging out on a cold shelf in a bottle.