Nightmare Brewing Mancuerda Double IPA

Beer Name: Mancuerda
Brewery: Dorchester Brewing (Boston, MA) for Nightmare Brewing (Farmingdale, NY)
ABV: 10.2%

How sold: 16 oz cans; on draft
Where bought: Belmont Station (Portland, OR)
Price: $7.27 for 16 oz. tallboy can

Date Received: August 10, 2019
Date Drank: August 31, 2019
When brewed? Possibly a limited-time beer.

What's on the Can: "Double India Pale Ale with Galaxy, Comet, & Polaris hops."

Commercial Description: "Giovanni II Bentivoglio, the tyrant who ruled Bologna with a tight grip, sentenced Luca Gaurico to the torture of Mancuerda in 1504. The Italian astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician was known for his scientific contributions and famously prophesied alongside Nostradamus. When Giovanni consulted the astrologist about he and his sons' destinies, displeasure was an understatement. Luca was then sentenced to the torture (which he survived) and exiled from Bologna."

Tight cords were wound around the limbs (usually arms) while the condemned was belted/secured to a stationary structure. The executioner would exert his weight opposite his victim or use leverage to pull the cords against themselves, the tightening eventually cutting through the skin, muscles, and directly to the bone. Repeating until the stretching of limbs and cord slicing caused the victim to faint or expire.

A foundation of Eraclea Pilsner grown just 160km (100 miles) from the site of the bloodshed, provides a sticky sweet mouthfeel with hints of honey and aromatic lacing. Double dry hopped with Comet, Galaxy, and Polaris as tribute to Luca Gaurico, while the Bentovoglio family crest emblazons the floor on the label."

Soft, sweet pineapple, mint, fresh cut onion grass, and mandarin zest aromatics. White nectarine, sweet cantaloupe, star fruit, and complemented by underlying eucalyptus. Juicy grapefruit flesh finish that lingers."

Hops: Comet, Galaxy, Polaris.

Where distributed: Nightmare Brewing contracts with other breweries, like Dorchester Brewing, and the beer is distributed to select states.

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Pours hazy light orange-peach into a pint glass. Unfiltered, some sediment at the bottom of the can. Frothy white head; some lacing. 4.5/5

Smell (25%): Sweet-malty combination of stone fruit, honey, and citrus. Solid malt backbone with trace octane. 4.5/5

Taste (40%): Follows the nose. Mix of malt, slight octane, and tropical to start, then malt/octane gives way and the tropical fully takes center stage. Powerful citrus aftertaste. All things considered, the octane was well-controlled even with the 10.2% tag. As the beer warms up, everything blends in that much more, so you can appreciate the tropical even more. Very delicious. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Full bodied; some carbonation. Creamy, velvety, and juicy with trace dry tongue. 4.5/5

Overall (20%): An outstanding to world-class IPA. I enjoyed this one even more than Drawn & Quartered because the powerful citrus finish left a more lasting impression. I also felt this had a fuller body than Drawn & Quartered. 4.75/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.65/5