I'm like a bloody Christmas yo-yo at the moment - all jolly and festive one minute and then all bah humbug the next. The reason for my ups and downs is not hard to fathom, management at work. But, only half a day more to go for 2022 so I can't really complain (but I do anyway). Today has been more bah humbug than ding dong merrily on high, so what is really needed is a good, festive buzz to take the edge off - I swear I don't have a problem.
Spacial Frequency
Style - Super Pale Ale
Brewer - Turning Point Brew Co.
Hops - Simcoe
ABV - 4.5%
The Beer
If there is anything that is guaranteed to put the Christmas spirit back in my stocking, it's a well crafted beer, particularly a hop-forward pale ale variant (Pale, IPA, DIPA, TIPA etc, and all variations thereon).
Spacial Frequency ticks those boxes right out of the can (it probably ticks them in the can too, but then I fear we are getting into a Schrodinger's Cat kind of a deal). SF is super clear, crystal even, there's not much head retention but there is a pleasing amount of fizz. It also pours with some body, not a lot of body, but some and probably just enough. Despite the lack of head retention, things are looking good here (and they tell you which hops they are using, so Halle-fucking-lujah)
The good things keep coming when you stick your hooter in the glass. You can, and most likely should, expect some pretty front and centre yeast aromas as well as a large dose of orange (you are at risk of getting your five a day from the smell alone). There are also some more subtle hints in there, I picked up on a light spicing, almost like cinnamon or nutmeg. This wasn't overwhelming, but just a little something extra to get the nose around, which I liked. My overriding olfactory experience was that Spacial Frequency smells a bit like a fancy candle, but in a good way.
Spacial Frequency drinks well, really well actually. The first sip almost expands to fill every conceivable space in your mouth (NB it is quite fizzy). But it is actually fuller bodied than it looked, so the fizziness is followed through with a good bit of malt stickiness and thickness. There is a very slight taste of soda water (club soda to our American readers) right up front which slightly washes away the other flavours on the first few sips. However, there is a lovely bitter orangey flavour in there which lingers around well and which continues to develop as you drink on. In fact that's true for all of the notes in Spacial Frequency, the bitterness which wasn't blowing me away to begin with, built up the more I drank - which I liked by the way. The further I progressed into the beer, I also picked up on a musty/dank note on the front end that I would have sworn I couldn't detect at the outset. All in all, a bit of a slow starter, but one that really finds its stride about a third of the way in.
I would rate Spacial Frequency as a very decent little summer drinker, it is really very refreshing. It's not the most bitter beer you'll ever drink, it's also slightly tart, but that eases off into a very nice mellow bitterness which you will enjoy, I'm sure of it. SF is quite drying on the palette, but that just makes you want to take another sip, which you should definitely do. I would buy this again.
score - 4.25/5
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