142. Heretic Brewing Company (Fairfield, CA) - You Can’t Handle the Juice

“Yeah, we know you’re tough. We get it. You can handle yourself. You do what most ordinary people don’t do; You seek out and support great craft beer each and every day. Big beers. Small beers. Crazy beers. Classic beers. Hazy beers. Nice. You have a passion and we really do appreciate that. But even so, plenty of extreme people still can’t handle the juice.”

Big, juicy stone fruit up front, followed by the powerful sharpness of the high alcohol (8.5%). Maybe a bit of pineapple in there, too. A little too big and sweet for me, but not bad. Reminds me of Evil Czech’s Nefarious Harbor.

141. Black Circle (Indianapolis, IN) - Rusty 49

No description, but lots of tropical fruit up front, and a crisp, clean finish. Some stone fruit and citrus as it warms up, I think. I thought this was a one-off for Rusty Redenbacher’s birthday, but then a second keg popped up last week. Lower alcohol (5.6%) than most Black Circle IPAs, but definitely one of Phillip’s best efforts yet.

140. Black Circle (Indianapolis, IN) - Jaycee Cones

This is a solid Citra IPA that was one of my favorites at Black Circle when Dan was brewing. Phillip has only made a couple of batches since he took over, and the first one subbed Amarillo for Citra and wasn’t quite as good. They’re back to Citra with this batch, and it’s very good. Phillip’s batches of Dan’s recipes tend to be a touch more bitter, but are still very good. Nice blend of tropical and citrus, and there’s something dank in there, too. Not the same as Dan’s, but maybe more interesting; and the flavors get bigger the more it warms up.

139. Taxman Brewing Co. (Bargersville, IN) - Hop Audit: Lemondrop

“Hop Audit explores the endless combinations of boutique hops and saison yeast. The super-Cascadian hop known as Lemondrop features a uniquely expressive citrus and fruity notes. When paired with the complex, peppery esters of farmhouse yeast, this combination is one you won’t want to miss. It’s time to Hop Audit!”

Jumping the shark again, I have to say that I’m not sure we need exclamation points in beer descriptions. But getting to the beer itself, it’s got a nice, light citrus flavor up front. Not much else going on, but I get the idea that I need to let this one warm up. It gets a little funkier when it warms up, but not all that much. Not bad, but it doesn’t do much for me.

138. Heretic Brewing Company (Fairfield, CA) - Evil Cousin

“Almost everybody has their favorite cousin. Ours is a resiny citrus and pine joy with an easy drinking malt character. We love hanging out with our cousin at the beach, camping, hiking and every holiday party. Why not welcome our cousin to your next family gathering?”

Surprisingly easy to drink for such a big beer (8.0%), with lingering citrus and a bitter finish. There’s some tropical fruit swimming around in there, too. Usually I get the tropical when it’s cold and the citrus when it starts to warm up, but that seems to be reversed in this case. Interesting, but not quite as interesting as the last two.