Sweetwater Brewing Second Helping
With Second Helping, Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing has teamed up with The Giving Kitchen in a worthy cause. All proceeds from the sale of this IPA go towards area (Atlanta region) restaurant workers who have “experienced unanticipated emergencies and hardships.” This is a great endeavor on the brewery’s part and, regardless of how the following review turns out — sometimes even I don’t know where it’s going to go — buy as much of it as you can.
Weighing in at 7.4% ABV and 69 IBU, Second Helping is a pretty tasty IPA, but it’s not your standard example of the style. To change things up, the company decided to add juniper berries to the mix. The result is a beer with an incredible aroma and a flavor that nearly follows suit, as a good pit of piney juniper adds an intriguing touch.
Appearance
The brew pours a rich amber in color with a persistent cap of creamy, off-white foam. It certainly looks good.
Aroma
The nose on this beer is wonderfully hoppy and fruity. Grapefruit, pine, a light cattiness, mango, pineapple and distant juniper all combine for an aroma that is mouthwatering.
Taste
The influence of the juniper berries steps up more here to accompany an earthy, pithy citrus character. The flavor isn’t as fruity/hoppy as the nose hinted — having that fruit forward nature of the aroma combine with the juniper would have made for an excellent dynamic. At 69 IBU, the beer packs a good bit of bitterness, but won’t overwhelm the palate as a decent bit of malt sweetness arrives. The finish is fairly drying and long lasting, fading slowly to a softly glowing warmth.
Overall
Second Helping is a decent brew for an even better cause. I love the aroma on this beer — I just wish the flavor echoed it a bit more than it currently does. For those of you in the Atlanta area, make sure you buy a bottle or three. You’ll be happy you did.
Rating: 3.5/5
This is a review of a promotional sample.
