Two Roads Two Juicy
I spied this can of Two Juicy on shelves during a recent run at my local shop. Having never encountered Two Roads Brewing (Stratford, CT) prior to this I figured, “what the hell, the artwork looks cool.” It’s silly to pick up a beer based on that thought process, but that’s how I roll. And I’m glad that my brain is easily swayed by pretty colors and dynamic graphics. This 8.2% ABV New England style double IPA is pretty darn good.
I’ve been fairly resistant to this trend in IPAs — I prefer dank, pungent and biting IPAs like the ones that I “grew up” on. That said, I have come across a few versions of the NEIPA, like Two Juicy, that I particularly enjoyed. This brew isn’t overly fruity or juicy, nor does it completely ignore the bitterness that hops provide to your standard IPA. Instead, the DIPA presents a good bit of pineapple, citrus, soft cattiness, as well as pine and an approachable hop bite (thanks to Hallertauer Blanc, Citra & Mandarina Bavaria varieties) that reminded you it’s still an IPA.
Two Juicy presents a flavor profile that is more of a mashup of old and new that worked well for my personal preferences. It has removed the sometimes one-dimensional nature of double IPAs and injected a welcome, dynamic array of fruit flavors that hit all the right notes. I wouldn’t call this one overly fruit juicy by any means, but it still packs in a good amount that will have fans of these styles of IPA grinning widely.