Common Root’s Bright Beacon – an easy drinking 8%-er
Common Roots Brewing Co. is from the small village of South Glen Falls, New York – about 50 miles north of Albany and 20 miles west of the Vermont border.
They appeared on BBG once before, back in December of 2019, and I sadly haven’t been able to find them again until now. A lot has changed since their last appearance. The brewery has three locations – The Flagship, The Biehall Café (right next door in SGF), and The Outpost in downtown Albany.
Last time I tried one of their IPAs, Pillow Talk, but today I went for something a bit stronger. I have their Bright Beacon, a hazy Double IPA brewed with Citra, Citra, and then more Citra hops. It has a solid 8% ABV and cost me about $6.50 for the 16-ounce can.
This hazy DIPA poured a bright orange color and was completely opaque. It was just a shade darker than orange juice. About a finger of eggshell white head topped the beer and quickly faded down to about half that size in the blink of an eye. The small amount of head formed a small accumulation around the edge of the glass with not much foam remaining in the center.
On the nose, it was quite balanced. The flaked wheat and oats were quite prevalent, more so than in most hazies, and offered up that slightly sweet, cerealesque bready quality. The hops added a bundle of tropical and citrus fruits – mostly orange, pineapple, mango, and passion fruit – and a bit of stone fruit could be picked up underneath it all.
Each sip begins with a mild rush of carbonation and a soft and heftier feel that engulfs the entire mouth. There is a tingle of bitterness right up front but, as that fades, the Citra hops are able to make their mark. The malt bases is alway there as well but ever so subtly hiding underneath the hop flavors. It just adds a touch of bread to the beer throughout the taste.
Pithy orange and grapefruit hit first but the beer turns super juicy a second or two later when the mango, passion fruit, and just a touch of guava all appear. In the initial moments you can also pick up some tingly pineapple that adds more to the sweetness.
There is a lull of hops around the midway point that lets that cereal characteristic peek out for a brief moment. However, the hop and yeast qualities return, and bring forth more flavors. Here is where the stone fruit can be detected, as some peach and apricot flavors briefly appear. But it’s that early citrus rind attribute that spikes on the backend.
It finishes rather dry with some resinous grapefruit peel bitterness and a hint of orange juice. After a few consecutive swigs, I did notice I was slightly parched and needed water to re-salivate.
Other than the dryness, it was insanely easy to drink. The 8% was hidden completely and, even though it had a softer, thicker body, it did not sit heavy at all. It was very crushable. A fantastic juice bomb.
