Friday Froth: What's In A Name?

The waiter gave me a look that said "Dude - work with me here," because I was mumbling. It started like this: 

Him: "What'll you have?" A perfectly reasonable question, and not an unexpected one, given that I'd just sat down. So I replied:

"Nmm nmm."

"What?"

"Nmm nmm... ee."

And that's when I got the look. So I said it louder, biting off each word:

"Nummy Nummy, please." 

Dammit. 

Look, I get it - it's fun to name your beer something ridiculous like "Buttface" or "Even More Jesus," but please, I humbly beseech you, the brewers of the world: please don't make it something I'm embarrassed to order in public. That said...

Nummy Nummy is an imperial IPA from Stubborn Beauty Brewing out of Middletown, Conn. I've mentioned them before, but I hadn't had their signature big IPA until just recently. It's dark for an IPA, and has a thick froth of tiny bubbles and a quiet aroma with maybe just a bit of citrus. There are big malts on the tongue for a fleeting second before you realize how extravagantly hopped this one is. Half the body here has to be lupulin - a bit of a hop oil slick coats the tongue. N.N. has big, chewy hop flavors that bite, but without any ill intent. Drinking this is like wrestling the family dog. 

I was ready to make my judgement halfway through the pint:  it's tasty stuff, y'all. The hops here are doing exactly what they should be doing in an IIPA, which is adding incisive flavor - like pairing spinach with a fatty steak. Nummy Nummy is a nice one.

The lunatic fools at Clown Shoes have made a beer just for Connecticut: Lemon Drop Space Cake. The label art shows a space Husky along with Connecticut patriot/hero Nathan Hale, and they're being attacked by laser-blasting cupcakes. Yes, I'm pretty sure the brewers were high. What we do know for sure is they replaced the Mosaic hops in the original Space Cake with Lemon Drop hops for this iteration. 

This double IPA pours amber with a rocky head so thick you could shave with it. Close your eyes and inhale, and the malt in the aroma just ruins the impression you're holding Sansa Stark's favorite food under your nose. L.D. Space Cake is in no way a dessert, digestif, or tea time sipper, but the round grain sweetness and distinct citrus of the hops make drinking this beer almost a reward. It's a very smooth beer with enough prickly carbonation to keep its weight down, even as a heavy, 9% DIPA. It's not too bitter at all, and seems not to take itself too seriously, if you'll allow a bit of anthropomorphism. I'm not saying it's the finest DIPA I've ever had, but I did rip through a 220z. bomber in near record time. If this is the brewers' nod to the Constitution State, I salute them right back. 

I didn't mean to make this the all-name edition of Friday Froth, but that's exactly why I ordered a glass of Heavy Seas Red Sky At Night. It's a slightly orange-hued saison with some real power. There are big, big malt hits and Belgian yeast with every sip. It's not a dainty and exquisitely crafted European saison, and it's not super local, but if you've ever had a day when you were just done with it all, and needed a beer rightfreakingnow, this could be your 7.5% huckleberry. It is tasty, it is deeply substantial, and it is one to get the job done. "Sailors delight" indeed. 

See you out there.