Voodoo HazeMama New England IPA

I had a marvelous beer mail delivery from the friendly team at Great Lakes Brewery. Included were eight cans of Octopus Wants To Fight, eight of Meanwhile ... Down in Moxee, and eight of the only one that was new to me, Voodoo HazeMama New England IPA.

Voodoo HazeMama (dumb name IMHO--in fact, in the weeks since I wrote this review, the beer has been re-branded and re-christened as HazeMama NEIPA) is a 7% ale sold in 473mL cans that have a sticker that declares “may contain strawberry”.  The crazy hazy beer has a rosy gold hue and pours with a fluff of off-white head. The beer has a juicy, slightly bitter nose with notes of orange, peach, and (maybe I was influenced by the sticker on the can) strawberry. The flavour continues the fruit cocktail vibe, with lots of sweetness up front, a tinge of bitterness at the back end, and a pretty creamy mouthfeel throughout.

Compared to some of the other beautiful IPA efforts from the crew at GLB, Voodoo HazeMama is a second tier effort. It has great strength and a beautiful, hazy look. It’s too sweet and it lacks the crackling back end that puts the IPA in NEIPAs.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.