Vulcan Ale: The Genesis Effect Red Session IPA

I grew up a big Star Trek fan. As a small child, probably no older than five or six years old, I would spend a lot of time playing with Star Trek toys and looking forward to the next episode airing on TV. I watched Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country any chance I could get and to this day I think Captain Picard being turned into a Borg might be the greatest cliffhanger in television history. So now that I have established my Star Trek fanhood cred, you will understand the excitement I felt when I saw Star Trek Vulcan Ale from Shmaltz Brewing Company. At the time I heard my inner voice reminding me that this was probably just a gimmick beer that would leave me disappointed. I then silenced that voice by seeing Spock on the label, along with a reference to “Project Genesis.” I decided it was time to put skepticism aside. With high hopes I decided to boldly go to the register(see what I did there?) and purchase Vulcan Ale not just because I was geeking out. I got it for this review.

Vulcan Ale is a red session IPA that pours a slightly hazy amber with an off white head. The aroma was full of bready malt, grapefruit with a hint of pine. Basically the aroma was what you would expect from a Red IPA. Unsurprisingly the flavor matched the aroma. There was caramel malt sweetness up front followed by grapefruit bitterness and a pine finish. Vulcan Ale had everything you would expect from the style of beer but it was also easy to taste that something is missing. This could be due to the fact that it is a session IPA, which means it has a lower level of alcohol than a normal IPA and multiple bottles can be enjoyed in one sitting before you start stumbling around. In simpler terms a session IPA is the light beer version of a regular IPA. Because of this I felt that it was too light on flavor. I'm sure there were more complex notes intended for this beer but due to the limitations of the style they seem to be lost.

Putting the Star Trek label may be a way to attract someone who may not have had a Red IPA before and safely introduce them to the style. For an old “Trekkie” and Beer Enthusiast this feels more like a missed opportunity to create something unique and special. At the end of the day this is a basic beer inside a really cool bottle. I do not give points for cool bottles.

Overall I would rate Star Trek Vulcan Ale a 2.5/5. It is a safe, middle of the road beer to put a Star Trek label on. But to an experienced beer drinker like me, it is hard to think of this as anything more than a fun novelty beer that I would never buy again.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!