Judge’s Review: 96 Rating – When Pigs Fly by Clocktown Brewing Co.

Hazy IPA | Year-Round | USA

By Michael Heniff

Judges Rating: 96
Aroma: 23
Appearance: 6
Flavor: 38
Mouthfeel: 10
Overall Impression: 19

When Pigs Fly by Clocktown Brewing Co. is a Hazy IPA and is being evaluated as a Hazy IPA (category 21C in the 2021 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines). Hazy IPAs are known for their juicy/tropical fruity/citrusy hop-forward character, hazy appearance and lighter-than-typical American IPA bitterness.
When Pigs Fly pours light straw in color, is very hazy, and sports a tall white head. The aroma is strong tropical fruit-, citrus- and pine-flavored hops with lighter notes of resins; no malt is evident in the aroma and the esters are not discernable behind the fruit-forward hop profile. The flavor is of moderate tropical fruity hops with lighter piney notes; the malt flavors take a backseat allowing the hop profile to shine. The beer finishes lightly bitter with moderate tropical fruit hops lingering long into the finish.
When Pigs Fly is a world-class hazy IPA. The hop profile is lush, foregrounding delightful tropical fruit throughout the aroma, flavor and finish with complementing hop flavors of citrus and pine providing complexity and balance. The malt and bitterness levels are on par for the hazy IPA style (low to increase drinkability and allow the hops to be the focus of the beer). This is a tremendous hazy IPA, and all hopheads and hazy fans should seek this one out if possible.