Long Trail Space Juice Double IPA

Up until recently, Long Trail Brewing Company was one of those breweries that I always seemed to forget about. I always thought they made decent beer, they just didn't make anything that really blew my mind. That all changed when I tried their sMasH(single malt and single hop) #2 beer that paired Maris Otter malt with Mosaic hops. That was one of those beers I could not get enough of. The malt was biscuity and beautifully complimented the bold tropical notes of the mosaic hop. The finish was earthy, piney and most importantly it worked. It is still by far the best sMasH beer I have had to date. I hope to see it on shelves again at some point. This however is not a review of Smash #2, it is a review of their highly sought-after Space Juice Double IPA.

Space Juice Double IPA is wonderful. There, that's the review, you can go back to watching cute animal videos and reading Fantasy Football news. I say that because after the long Oktoberfest blog, I thought I would do you a favor and keep it simple. If you still want further details(and you should), I suppose I'll provide them. Space Juice works so well because it's bursting with tropical fruit notes. The aroma is full of passion fruit, orange, pineapple and mango. The first sip I took of this slightly hazy, golden yellow Double IPA with a white head took me by surprise. It was wonderfully juicy, full of pineapple, mango, guava, orange before a grapefruit, piney finish. The finish was wonderful, providing a nice balance to the sweet tropical flavor. There was a slight alcohol burn, but at 8.7% that is to be expected. The malt sweetness is also there. It's nice but it is in the background allowing the hops to shine.

With an 8.7% ABV, Space Juice Double IPA is a big strong beer with big flavors. Galaxy, Columbus, Citra and Mosaic hops are on full display here and that is a fabulous thing. At north of 15 dollars a four pack, it is a bit pricey but it is definitely worth a purchase if you are a fan of big, bold, tropical IPAs. If I come across it again, I'll be buying it again immediately.

Overall I would rate Long Trail Brewing Company's Space Juice Double IPA a 4.25/5. It's proof you do not need to add fruit or fruit extract to get bold fruity, tropical flavors.


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!