Few previous Rock Juice’s begged to be improved, yet 11 iterations in and the Rocky Ridge stalwart continues to evolve and impress. A hop bill more akin to a shopping list features alongside a bitterness rarely experienced in today’s IPAs. With great hops comes great responsibility and, here, Rock Juice is surely responsible for some good times.
There’s really three things to be considered when consuming a Rock Juice: one – there’s a lot of hops; two – there’s lots of alcohol; and three – don’t forget about the hops. The 10 percent ABV is nothing to sneeze at, but in this instance it holds up against a huge hop presence and, between the two, a robust body and mouthfeel (thanks to oats, triticale and rolled wheat) holds it all together.
Surprisingly, the high ABV is barely noticeable, instead overrun by intense sweet fruits like mango and apricot. Thick pine, grassiness, tree sap and a leafy note are abundant, levelled only by residual sweetness and a bitterness that chooses to kick on after each sip, derived from an array of hops and hop products including Galaxy T90, Mosaic T-90, Vic Secret T-90, Strata T-90, Mosaic Spectrum, Citra Spectrum, Galaxy Spectrum, Citra LUPOMAX and Mosaic LUPOMAX.
For a beer containing what some might call an unreasonable amount of hops, Rock Juice has a surprising balance. It’s almost like Jekyll and Hyde in nature: wonderfully tasty but with a lingering warning about its deviant ABV.
Jono Outred
Published March 1, 2023 2023-03-01 00:00:00
