Socks & Sandals

Humble Sea Brewing Company — Santa Cruz, CA

21 Apr 2020 · Stephen

Hazy IPA Humble Sea Brewing Company

6.6% ABV

64 IBU

Foggy orange Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return –

3 / 4 I'd recommend trying it

Tasting Notes

Appearance Deep foggy golden to orange, fully opaque with a soft white head — the DDH foggy format at its most vivid. Looks like mimosa in a pint glass before the first sip confirms it. The color alone explains why this beer sells wherever it pours.

Aroma Orange juice leads immediately — juicy, vivid, Citra-forward. The mimosa quality Humble Sea describes comes from Centennial's floral brightness sitting above the orange base, adding a sparkling, effervescent quality to the nose. Lime zest from the Citra and Chinook combination cuts through with a brighter, more acidic citrus note underneath. The Simcoe resin is present but restrained by the hazy format — enough to keep this as a beer rather than a juice, not enough to push into dankness.

Palate Pineapple and cantaloupe carry through the middle — the tropical character of the Citra and Centennial at full DDH expression, softer and more rounded than the West Coast iteration's crisp citrus. The creamy, medium mouthfeel from the foggy base cushions the 64 IBU bitterness into something approachable without eliminating it — the hop presence is real and firm for a hazy IPA, just delivered in a completely different vehicle than the West Coast version.

Finish Medium, tropical, and citrus-forward. The pineapple and orange juice character fades with a gentle bitterness from the Simcoe and Chinook that lingers clean and refreshing. Significantly softer and fruitier than the West Coast Socks & Sandals finish — the format doing everything it's supposed to do.

The Verdict

The original Socks & Sandals — DDH foggy, creamy, orange juice aroma, pineapple and cantaloupe flavor, 64 IBU underneath it all. Same four hops as the West Coast version, completely different experience. Both are right.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 21 Apr 2020