New England breweries that established themselves before the haze-craze took full effect have interesting decisions to make; do they stick to the hoppy beers that established their brand or do they make the juice-bombs that many drinkers are craving? The decision is probably a little easier for breweries that brew English style or even West Coast IPAs, but more challenging for breweries that make beers showcasing the fruity flavors of new world hops balanced by a little bitterness or malt body. A good example is Foundation Brewing in Portland Maine, their flagship IPAs like Epiphany and Venture are delicious but not precisely NEIPAs. So Foundation has expanded their lineup, keeping the beers that made the brewery popular while adding new offerings for the haze bros. One of these new offerings is Mindstorm, a NEIPA brewed with Cascade, Columbus, Simcoe and El Dorado hops. Foundation Mindstorm is available year-round on draft and in 16 oz cans.
Foundation Mindstorm pours hazy light yellow with a solid white head. The aroma is solidly hoppy, heavy on the tropical fruit. The hops also lead the flavor, notes of guava, papaya, peach, and melon along with a very soft bitterness, very much a NEIPA. This is balanced by some light malt, notes of cereal and bread crust. Midstorm is light bodied and easy drinking, at 6.5% ABV it is about standard for a modern IPA. The finish is mild with a little lingering hop flavor. Overall Mindstorm is a solid NEIPA, a touch light bodied for my taste but very flavorful. Hoppy Boston score: 4.0/5.
Previous Foundation Reviews:
Foundation Panoptic, Foundation Forge, Foundation Cosmic Bloom, Foundation Venture, Foundation Afterglow, Foundation Wanderlust, Foundation Epiphany
Hoppy Boston 
