Other Half / Monkish Brewing - "JFK 2 LAX" triple IPA

I've been seeing a lot of Other Half stuff lately, and at the risk of covering yet another, I figured I'd spotlight this as it's not something I've seen before. This 10.20% ABV triple IPA is a collaboration between Monkish Brewing out of Torrance, CA. It's made with a smorgasbord of hops: Citra, Simoce, Moteuka, Citra Cryo, Simcoe Cryo, Citra Incognito, and Motueka Hop Keif. What's interesting is that it's listed as having a "High Density Hop Charge," which isn't something I've seen before. In researching it, it looks like it was actually coined at Other Half to differentiate this process from double-dry hopping. 

This approach uses hop pellets (which are often used in brewing, vice traditional hop flowers) and cryo hops, a type of concentrated hop pellet. Other Half then uses Incognito, a hop oil extract, to deeply saturate the mixture during brewing. So using the three different formats of hops - not to mention several species within - definitely lives up to the moniker "high-density hop saturation." Let's look inside.

Cracked open this 16oz can and it pours lazily into my Fremont snifter. It generates a decent aroma, lots of sticky citrus. 

Phew, this is heavy. Quite soft, but full of flavor and a very thick mouthfeel. "Dense" is almost a good word to describe it, almost like drinking tequila mixed with OJ. Not in terms of flavor, but that same "heavy" feeling and texture. There's a wave of super sticky, super resnious hops. And lots of them. It's a little sappy, not super sweet, but delivered in a Mike Tyson punch to the palate. I'm getting mango and clementine. As expected, the flavor really lingers on the palate.

I promise this is the last Other Half I'll review for a while. I was intrigued by the name and wasn't disappointed - fans of super thick East Coast-style IPAs should definitely seek this out. At $26 for 4pk of 16oz cans (at least, that's what it was at Irving Wines and Spirits) it's not cheap, but I think stands out somewhat from the rest of the pack of 3x IPAs, what limited "pack" there is of that format.