Reviewed: Southern Tier Nu Juice IPA
Official description: Sometimes evolution is observed in real time. Case in point: Nu Juice IPA. Over the course of more than a year of development, our R&D team uncovered the ultimate balance of hops and malts. This process involves adding Mosaic, Ekuanot, and Simcoe hops over a multi-day period, creating a refreshingly juicy and approachable IPA. As an added bonus, bitterness has been reduced to a low 30 for what could be the smoothest IPA ever brewed. 6% ABV, 30 IBUs
Southern Tier Brewing Co. – Southern Tier Nu Juice IPA – 12oz can served in stemless snifter – 6% ABV
Background
Debuting last month, Nu Juice IPA joins Swipe Light (light lager) and Lake Shore Fog (hazy IPA) as the newest additions to Southern Tier’s year-round lineup. I’ve tried all three recently and was very impressed.
Review
I’m sampling this from a 12oz can with an easy-to-read packaging date of 2/28/19 printed on the bottom. Into my glass, Nu Juice is clear, bright gold in color with thick, off-white foam that settles down after several minutes. Bringing up the glass, I get an interesting mix of lemon zest, honeydew melon, ripe cantaloupe, and even white wine grapes. As it warms, some sourdough bread gets through.
Flavor-wise, Nu Juice is bright and snappy for an IPA with sourdough bread crust flavors coupled with white grape juice and touches of passion fruit. Bitterness is sharper than the description implies peaking around a 6/10 level with melon rind flavors. Meanwhile, overall sweetness is quite low at a 3/10 making the beer relatively light-bodied for a 6% IPA. It comes across as almost a session IPA in the mouthfeel, light and spry with a fairly neutral finish. However, a bit of aspartame-like sweetness lingers in the aftertaste.
Conclusion
Nu Juice nails the modern, clear IPA style in my opinion. It’s lighter-bodied and full of bright fruitiness. Bitterness is far lower than their normal IPA and also dumps the chewy specialty malt. But bitterness isn’t non-existant as Nu Juice is still snappy with a solid hop bite. Most importantly, I think consumers will be pleased to find this delivers on its promise of being “refreshingly juicy and approachable.” It’s a perfect Springtime beer.
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