Somerville Brewing Company (Slumbrew) - Happy Sol

Over the past year, numerous breweries have opened their doors in the bay state; located in Somerville Ma., Somerville Brewing Company (Slumbrew) is one such brewery. Homebrewers first, Caitlin Jewell and Jeff Leiter, refined their products through diligent, experimental work in their brewlab, a 350 square foot facility designed for recipe development. Once theses recipes meet the specifications and demands of Slumbrew brewmasters, they are scaled up for commercial productions at Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich, MA. Currently, Slumbrew has a three-beer profile: Happy Sol, FlagRaiser IPA and Porter Square Porter and the newest, Happy Sol, a hefeweizen, is reviewed here.

Happy Sol pours a hazy-golden color with noticeable orange tints. The bubbly head rises to a one-finger height, but quickly disperses. The dispersal left very little lacings along the sides of the pint glass.
Due to the abundance of blood oranges used in the production of Happy Sol, I was surprised that the aroma wasn't completely dominated by citrus notes. There were two main complementary smells to the orange citrus part of the aroma: yeastiness and subtle spicy pepper. Most likely due to the use of blood oranges, a minor tangy quality was also present.

The initial part of the taste profile pops with coriander. Immediately following this short-lived coriander burst, orange enters into the taste profiles and lingers throughout. To round out the taste, pepperiness is present, but not overwhelming, letting the orange be at the forefront of the taste. During my first sips, the traditional fruit esters (banana) were not present, however as the beer warmed and was agitated, banana esters began to enter the taste profile adding farther complexity.
The mouthfeel was light to medium in body with moderate carbonation. I enjoyed the fullness and smoothness of this hefeweizen, which most likely due to my adoration of silky stouts.
At 5.5%ABV, Happy Sol is bordering on sessionability, which raises its drinkability. Its balance is one of it greatest attributes. The spiciness and citrus are held in check allowing multiple players to shine throughout the taste profile. Finally, at 5.95$ this beer is a truly great deal, so if you see it on the shelf at local MA bottle shop its definitely worth checking out.

Cheers,
PandaMack