Recently in Carton Category

Every year around Halloween, I gird my loins and make a trek into New Jersey for some spooky beer hunting. Alright, fine, it's a day with some sort of seasonal-themed mini-golf and a haunted restaurant, and while I'm there, I hit up some Jersey liquor stores to see what I can find.

Carton has been a reliable little brewery for a while now, and I really enjoy Boat beer and 077XX, so when I saw this newish IPA offering that was unheard of by me, I grabbed a four pack. I was initially confused by the name, thinking it was some form of Double IPA, though I couldn't figure out what the leading "I" stood for. It turns out that this beer is actually a reference to the Id (and that Carton also makes beers called EGOIPA and SUPEREGOIPA, the latter being a whopping 13% ABV). Very Freudian:

Carton IDIPA - Pours a clear golden yellow color with a finger of fluffy white head. Smells of dank, resinous hops, a little citrus. Taste is sweet, some crystal malt here, with citrus and pine hops. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, easy going. Overall, solid old-school IPA here, a little more muted than I'd expect, but I'm chalking that up to freshness (though it should probably keep this long) and it's not like it's really bad at all or anything. B

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV canned (16 ounce pounder). Drank out of a tulip glass on 10/28/17. Canned on 10/03/2017.

Carton continues to interest me, of course, and I will always snag something from them when I see it...

Pennsylvanians like myself tend to give New Jersey a hard time in all things, and beer is no exception. Of course, this sort of attitude is kinda like high-school-style posturing and is probably not all that true. Still, while they've got some mainstay breweries like Flying Fish or longtime specialty breweries like Ramstein, it used to be an otherwise unexciting beer destination. But lately, there have been a few newer breweries making waves, like Kane and Carton.

I still have not sampled any of Kane's brews, but Carton has been showing up with regularity in the Philly area (on tap, at least), and they've been a welcome addition. In particular, I've enjoyed their Boat beer, one of them so called "session IPAs" (aka American Pale Ales or as Beerbecue suggests, Half IPA or HIPA). Based on reports from my beer mule, the brewery is a rather small operation, and they don't really distribute their cans much. Fortunately, beer mules gonna mule, so I got some Boat beer and this lovely Double IPA called 077XX. I initially thought the name was some sort of weird code number applied to experimental hops, but it's actually a reference to the local Monmouth County zip codes, most of which start with 077. And hot damn, this is one fantastic little number:

Carton 077XX - Pours a very pretty, almost clear yellow color with a couple fingers of fluffy head that leaves plenty of lacing as I drink. The nose is beautiful, juicy citrus hop aromas abound, tropical fruits, some pine and floral notes as well. Taste is very sweet, with that juicy hop character pervading the taste and the pine and floral notes hanging around as well. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, much lighter than expected, crisp and refreshing up front, a bit sticky towards the finish, and considering the non-trivial 7.8% ABV, dangerously drinkable. Overall, this is absolutely fantastic, and I will most certainly be seeking this out again. A

Beer Nerd Details: 7.8% ABV canned (16 ounce). Drank out of a Willibecher glass on 9/19/14.

I'll have to get around to reviewing some of Carton's other stuff. I've had many a Boat beer, but never reviewed. I've also had Epitome, a decent and powerful black IPA that I'd like to try again at some point. And I've had a few others that don't seem as common (I had a sip of a friends coffee IPA the other day, not really my thing, but well made). And, of course, I really need to get out to Kane sometime. And I'll have to stop giving New Jersey a hard time about their beer. With beers like this, that'll be easy.