Judge’s Review: 85 Rating – Cosmic Shores by Cape May Brewing Co.

Hazy IPA | Year-Round | USA

By Dan Preston

Judges Rating: 85
Aroma: 20
Appearance: 5
Flavor: 34
Mouthfeel: 8
Overall Impression: 18

Cosmic Shores by Cape May Brewing Co. is a hazy IPA that falls into BJCP 2021 category 21C Hazy IPA.
The beer looks the part, with a cloudy yellow color and a big fluffy off-white head, although it fades quickly. The aroma is hop-forward with a lot of citrus and tropical notes – lemon, lime, orange, pineapple – with some grassy notes that seem Galaxy-like. Far behind the hops there is a light grainy, doughy malt character and peach-like esters. The flavor is similar to the aroma, but takes on more pineapple and less orange, plus some additional lemon and lime zest, with a bit of pith and pulp. As it warms, there are some piney notes that begin to sneak out. The citrus pith also adds a little bite to a moderate bitterness, which helps keep things towards the hop side, but is towards the upper end of firmness for the style. Still well below the bitterness of a West Coast IPA, but not as low as the best-known examples of the style.
A solid example of style but the juicy hops aren’t quite as intense as the upper echelon. The hops come off Galaxy-centric, which unfortunately is one of the few hops that I’m not a big fan of. It is the cilantro of hops to me, which is doubly unfortunate as it’s one of the more popular hops in this style so I come across it often. I generally avoid Galaxy hops when I can, so this is the first example I’ve tried it in awhile that has them, and its more pleasant than I remember. I found it enjoyable overall, but those with more of a Galaxy hop affinity would probably rank it more highly.