Arvon’s Double Jurassic Haze
Nestled in Grand Rapids, Michigan is Arvon Brewing. The brewery began in nearby Grandville, Michigan in 2017 but moved to their current facility in Grand Rapids back in early 2020. I think they have some of the coolest labels, both in terms of pictures and with their textured/matte appearance.
Today I have their Double Jurassic Haze – a Double New England-style IPA brewed with Citra, El Dorado, and Vic Secret hops – using eight pounds of hops per barrel. It was canned on January 23rd and features a strong 8.5% ABV, with each 16-ounce can going for about $7.50 out by me.
This hazy Double IPA poured a very murky straw color with orange hues throughout…like dirty OJ. Three fingers of dense, eggshell white head built up. The foam lingered for what seemed like an eternity. After a handful of minutes, it had finally fizzled down to about half a finger and left some solid lacing around the sides of the glass. There were thick clumps of foam hanging to the sides…it was some of the thickest head retention I had seen in quite some time.
The aroma was quite citrusy with some underlying hints of flaked wheat and oats. There were massive notes of grapefruit and orange with a bit of zesty lemon joining in. But, alongside those, were also some sweeter pineapple and peach notes and a bit of a resinous pithy quality.
A pillowy, thicker body starts off the sip and delays the flavors from immediately hitting. It takes a few seconds for the hops to crawl out from under that soft mouthfeel and, when they do, they offer up an intense attack on my taste buds. There were huge citrus notes up front, with the orange and grapefruit hitting first and foremost.
The grapefruit characteristic began to swell and swell until it took over nearly the entire flavor profile. But it also brought a hard hitting pithy bitterness that seemed to sit at the back of the tongue for quite some time. The 8.5% was super sneaky. It was completely hidden in the taste but, towards the end of the pint, I could sure feel it warming my face.
It wasn’t too dry on the finish but that grapefruit pithiness continued on, lingering for quite some time. I was expecting a juicer brew but, once I had gotten used to that citrusy bitter twinge a few sips in, the beer seemed to be much more palatable and the second half of the pint went down way faster.
All in all, it was a pretty good beer. Lots of citrusy and hoppy qualities with a higher ABV. For a hazy, I would’ve liked it to have been a bit juicier but, overall, it was a solid brew.
