Bear back in time

Today's notes have been sitting, unfinished, in the oul' drafts folder for a stupidly long time. With apologies to Crafty Bear, I hereby give them a polish and present them to you.

We begin with another of their pale ales, this one called Trip Hazzard. Dunno why. Despite being hazy and all of 5% ABV, it's rather thin, at least on draught. The bubbles are sharp and palate-scrubbing, which I wouldn't expect in a beer like this. There's a mild mandarin and satsuma aroma, followed by a startlingly strong dose of vanilla in the foretaste. It finishes bitter and citric, and were it not for the appearance and sweet side, would almost pass as west coast. It's fine, but I'm not a fan overall, finding it a bit vapid, like making a bolder beer wasn't worth the effort. The watery texture is at the root of its problems and the main thing that needs fixing.

Last but not least is Last But Not Yeast, a 5.5% ABV IPA. At first glance it looks like your standard haze: pale yellow, completely opaque, and with a mere combover of bubbles for a head. The first sip presents a gentle vanilla sweetness and some spring onion savouries, so no surprises there. However -- and I guess this is where a full pint rather than a smaller measure is useful -- it did unfold from there into something a bit more interesting. There's a bitterness which wasn't immediately apparent, tasting of tangy lemon and grapefruit. There's none of the malt base which makes such things worthwhile in a west coast IPA, but I definitely detected a hint of something more old-school enjoyable about it. The other late-arriving feature is an oilier, resinous quality, bringing more dank to New England than one might otherwise expect. It's an easy drinker, devoid of common pitfalls. And while it's far from unique, it might make for a good alternative for any regular consumers of the likes of Trouble's Ambush.

Nothing too strange or startling here, but it seems to be the sort of beer that people like to drink. Neither lasted long on the board at UnderDog, and that's enough to justify their respective existences.