Peak Organic Crush and Evergreen

There are many products that drive sales based on brand loyalty. For example, we always have two types of peanut butter in my house because I prefer Jif and my wife likes Skippy, and while we make many compromises in marriage neither of us were willing to change our PB brand. While macro-lagers have used brand loyalty as a major tool for sales, beer geeks tend to be promiscuous in their selections, wanting to try every new and exciting beer that they can get their hands on. This trend has spurred the growth of mix packs, either produced by the breweries or mix and match 6 packs sold in bottle shops. Peak Organic took an interesting approach with two of their new IPAs, instead of packaging each in it’s own six pack and convincing stores to carry both, they are selling a mixed 6 pack with three cans of each beer. I like this approach, especially when you have two beers of a similar style, and hope other breweries follow suit. The two new IPAs are Crush, brewed with blood orange peel and Evergreen, brewed with juniper berries and spruce tips.

Peak Organic CrushPeak Organic Crush pours a hazy deep orange with a solid off-white head. The smell is a big burst of citrus-centric hops. The hops also dominate the flavor, notes of grapefruit, tangerine and mango along with a little bitter bite. The blood orange nicely melds with the hop flavors, adding an additional citrus punch without overwhelming the beer. The hop flavor is balanced by a little malt, touches of toast and crackers along with some body. Crush is medium bodied and goes down pretty easy for 7% ABV. The finish is crisp with some lingering hop and citrus flavors. I really enjoyed this beer, I am a little partial to the citrus flavored hops and the combination with blood orange is well done. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.

Peak Organic EvergreenPeak Organic Evergreen pours a hazy copper with a moderate cream colored head. There are some hops on the nose, floral and pine aromas. The flavor is also very hop forward, notes of resin, grass, herbs and lemon. The addition of spruce and juniper berries is subtle and complements the natural hop flavors. The flavor is rounded out by some malt, touches of bread dough and biscuits. Evergreen is medium bodied and goes down smooth, but packs a little punch at 7% ABV. In general I prefer IPAs that lean a little towards the citrus and tropical fruit flavor, but this is a nice beer all the same. Hoppy Boston score: 4.0/5.

Previous Peak Organic Reviews:

Peak Organic Super Fresh, Peak Organic Hop HarvestPeak Organic Fresh Cut PilsnerPeak Organic Simcoe Spring, Peak Organic Hop Noir

 

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