Judge’s Review: 80 Rating – Shiner Desert Mirage Hazy IPA by The Spoetzl Brewery

Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer | Year-Round | USA

By Richard Wong

Judges Rating: 80
Aroma: 21
Appearance: 4
Flavor: 34
Mouthfeel: 7
Overall Impression: 14

Shiner Desert Mirage Hazy IPA by The Spoetzl Brewery was judged as #30A (Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer) according to the 2021 BJCP Guidelines. 
This beer is labeled as a Hazy IPA, but it was not categorized as such, because it is made with cactus water as one of its ingredients and fits better under this category. The pour revealed a golden-to-light brown hue with slight chill haze. It is labeled as a hazy IPA, but it was not hazy at all. It had a light carbonation after the pour. The aroma of this beer was a bit unusual, perhaps due to the cactus water. By the way, “cactus water” is actually the juice from prickly pears.
The initial taste of this beer was that it had an unusual flavor that is a bit hard to describe, again, perhaps due to the cactus water. It had a nice malt sweetness and an aggressive hop bitterness with an 8% ABV, so the alcohol presence was surely there. The body and mouthfeel of this beer was about medium with light carbonation. The overall impression of this beer is that the addition of cactus water changed the profile and flavor(s) associated with an IPA, for better or worse. It had a smooth, crisp finish in the aftertaste along with the unusual flavor of cactus water along with it.