December 7th - Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company Ecomis

One of my favorite, local, all-time IPA selections comes from Neshaminy Creek, out of Croydon, PA.  This brewery which is NE of Philadelphia pumps out some pretty good stuff in my book.  

Should I use Rocky memes?  The champ says...

The Shape of Hops to Come, a Double IPA is something that is not only plentifully available at any one of my local distributors or grocery stores, but also comes at a very fair price point.  I can spend anywhere from $8-11 on a 4 pack of these and I'll savor each one of them because they're that good.  A pretty bitter DIPA, however, just right for when I'm in the mood for something hoppy.

A few weekends ago at W and S, this Neshaminy can caught my eye because the name didn't really make any sense.  As you've been told before, I'm a sucker for can art and the fact that a nonsense word was the name of the beer intrigued me all by itself.

It took me until tonight to unscramble the puzzle that you likely figured out when you read the title of tonight's blog entry.  Simcoe spelled backwards is Eocmis.  You know, because the can says that this 16 ounce piece of hoppiness is a "west coast inspired Simcoe double dry hopped double IPA."

Poured to my DFH glass, Ecomis appeared very hazy as well as unfiltered with an orange juice translucence.  Lots of aroma came from the glass, but I mainly noted some peppery spice, mild fruit and pine.  My first sip was that of a medium bodied, ever so slight malty sweetness.  That was followed up by one of the most complex hop bombs that was ever dropped on my palate.

The ever changing bitterness ran the gamut from peppery spice to fruit to earthy and back again, all wrapping up on a sticky resin that lingers on the palate.  There was just the slightest alcohol heat here (9% ABV) wrapped up inside this super complexity of hoppy goodness.  

This beer reminds me a lot of The Shape of Hops to Come, only less bitter with more flavor.  If this were a year-round offering, I would crown this my new favorite Neshaminy Creek brew, hands down.

The winner, and NEW champion!!!

According to the website, this appears to be only a once a year release and it's very limited at that.  I guess I'll need to make sure I grab a few more of these next year instead of just the one can I grabbed the other weekend.  Bottom line is that if you enjoy hops and bitter beers, this is a must try!