Crooked Spoke Adjacent - Twin Elephant Brewing

One of the fun things of repeat visits to Twin Elephant Brewing in Chatham is that you'll always find a new thing that you haven't tried before. I love Lil' Shimmy Ye and Diamonds & Pearls but I love seeing the revamped taplists every few weeks with exciting new brews to try. Last Saturday was no different as a planned trip to visit one of my favorite New Jersey breweries showed so much promise with a list of goodies I hadn't tried before.

Of course, seeing Lil' Shimmy Ye on tap is always a huge draw, but little did I know that Crooked Spoke Adjacent (CSA for brevity) would be the one beer to make me forget and even put off Lil' Shimmy for a round or so. After having a flight of all of their new creations, CSA stood out to me. At only 6.9% ABV, it's a very approachable and drinkable IPA and that sets it apart from Lil'. Lil' is a pale ale that clocks in a little lighter at 5.8% which now gives me the honorable distinction of being able to call one my favorite pale ale and the other my favorite IPA from Twin Elephant Brewing.

The nose on CSA is amazing. The color is absolutely beautiful. It's hazy, turbit, yellow with little to no malt presence on the taste. This brew is dangerously drinkable and very floral but with a huge tropical taste to it. The Citra, Vic Secret, and El Dorado shine through and through combining with the oats for a very creamy drinking experience. I'd highly recommend this beer if it's still available this coming weekend. Seek it out, even if you can't get a growler fill. CSA is well worth the try. This masterpiece is worth keeping around, Twin Elephant. This beer might not have invented the IPA, but I'll be damned if it does a great job of being a phenomenal entry within the catalogues of such. Job well done. Salud!

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Lil Shimmy Ye - Twin Elephant Brewing

Last year, Twin Elephant Brewing's Lil' Shimmy Ye' was one of my newest and favorite summer beers from New Jersey. Nothing has changed in that span of time for me and with April rearing its head around, it's time to revisit this delightful beer after its second canning run. 

This double dry-hopped canned version lends itself to further bolden those citrusy and tropical flavors that the Citra and Mosaic hops bring to the table. Simcoe and Belma hops round out this beer to take that citrus pop to a whole other level. It's almost unnatural the way this beer has so much flavor in a 5.8% format. There are few breweries that can get the juiciness from a brew under 6 or 7 without being a true session. Usually a flavor like this is reserved for an over 7% beer or a single hop beer featuring exclusively Citra or Mosaic.

The design on the can is fantastic. The beer in the glass is phenomenal. I'm looking forward to the increased production from Twin Elephant and more future canning runs of Lil Shimmy Ye and hopefully soon, their milk stout Diamonds & Pearls. Overall, I'd still consider Lil' Shimmy Ye' one of my favorite summer beers. I love a beer packed full of flavor and with an ABV that low, it makes it insanely sessionable to just sit and sip.

Although they did run out of cans fairly quickly, you can always give them a visit on Fridays and Saturdays. Just make sure to visit their website to get an updated version of their taplist. If you haven't been to this brewery yet, you should make it a priority. Salud! 

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