The local craft beer community suffered a big loss on Christmas day when Dave Witham, proprietor and co-founder of Proclamation Ales in Rhode Island, passed away a month after being diagnosed with cancer. He leaves behind a wife and a seven year old daughter, a GoFundMe has been set up to help them during this difficult time. The local beer community is also determined to help, with a number of local breweries teaming up to brew Second Derivative, using the base malt bill of Proclamation’s ubiquitous Derivative series along with their own hop schedule. Proceeds from the beer will also go towards helping Dave’s family. Just an incredibly sad story, hopefully it can serve as a reminder for all of us to savor every day, because you never know how many you have left. While I haven’t been able to find any Second Derivative yet, I did grab some Proclamation 42 IPA on a recent stock-up run. Proclamation 42 is brewed with Citra and El Dorado hops and is available on a rotating basis on draft and in 16 oz cans.
Proclamation 42 pours hazy light orange with a solid white head. The aroma features a big hit of hops, loads of citrus and tropical fruit. The flavor is also very hop-forward, notes of peach, guava, grapefruit and pineapple along with a minimal bitterness, this is a NEIPA all the way. A malt backbone adds some balance along with hints of bread dough and crackers. 42 is medium bodied and easy-drinking, not overly boozy at 6.5% ABV. The finish is crisp with plenty of lingering hop flavor. This is another excellent NEIPA from Proclamation, they deliver consistently high-quality beers and I hope to continue enjoying their brews for a long time. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.
Previous Proclamation reviews:
Proclamation Bronze, Proclamation Ethereous, Proclamation Derivative Galaxy
Hoppy Boston 
