When I’m not perpetually staring into the pixelated abyss for the enjoyment of you fine folks, I tend to find myself in the company of good beer.

Over the course of the last few years, my day jobs have had me bouncing around in the craft beer industry like some sort of hipster hyperbole come to life, what, with the beard and all.  And the Subarus.  And the everything else.  A couple of breweries and, now, a bottle shop over in the nice part of town.  At one point, I even thought of blogging forever under the banner of www.ATLBeerGuy.com.

In any case, I’ve said all that to say all this:  Frolfer.com isn’t going to shy away from the subject of the suds, given how well the worlds of disc golf and craft beer seem to coincide.

Up first for this foray into the frothy stuff, we’ll be exploring Version 21 of Hubbard’s Cave Fresh IIPA…which is kind of a mouthful.

This tends to be the beer that you want when you’re seeking Hubbard’s Cave, in any of the “versions”.  Personally, this is the 4th notch on my Fresh IIPA belt, having previously sampled V1, V19, and V20…Some on draft, some in the can.

This bad boy tonight, in a nod to the connection to disc golf we’re working with today, comes in a can.  A tall boy, to be exact.  The kind I could stuff only 2 or 3 of into my Innova Hero before I have to start abandoning other dead weight items like my wallet and keys.

Oh, and these pounders come in at a whopping 8.5% alcohol by volume, so 2 or 3 might be just about the upper end of the limit for one round any who.  (We’re not all fuckin’ Lemmy, ya know).

First thing I notice is just how floral this little concoction smells.  It’s fluffy, cloudy, and fruity as soon as you hear that distinctive CHRSH coming from this distinctively designed can.

Hey, say what you will about utilitarian minimalism…Hubbard’s Cave is making. It.  Work.

It smells like a peach and pineapple cobbler sitting on a down-home vanilla bean ice cream.

On the tongue, it isn’t much heavier.  It’s pillow-y and a little bit velvety.  That 8.5% is hiding itself well…dangerously well.  This is one of those beers that will sneak up to you at the end of the night.  This is the one you’ll be tasting on your sandpaper tongue in the morning if you’re not careful.

Also; I completely understand that “haze” is all the fucking rage right now, but this is kind of ridiculous:

In any case, it tastes similar to how it smells.  That pineapple citrus burst is extreme, followed by the punch of fresh dry-hopping.  (This thing was canned exactly 14 days ago, so, yeah….there’s that).

This is the kind of beer that straddles a line between being the cutting edge and obtuse dawning of a new normal.  This may be the beer that pushes other brewers into the gimmicky void, allowing Hubbard’s Cave to dial it back in at just the right time to fool the trap.

In any case, it’s worth making room in the bag for a few next time you’re slinging ’em out on the track.