Triple Socks and Sandals from Humble Sea, Drink at Smoke Eaters
It’s bright orange yellow color, foam is fine and thin. Fully hazy, opaque. It smells like mandarin juice, the fruity smell you may get from kids’ favorite Orange-D. The smells definitely is a simple orange, orange hard candy like. The first sip, it’s balanced bittersweet, but that flavor is very bold. You can tell both the sweetness and bitterness are strong. There’s a bit of minerals giving it a hint of salt. It’s full bodied, thick but not very oily. It shows a strong fruit hard candy aroma, citrus aromas orange, mandarin, limoncello, passion fruit, ripe guava, orange liquor aromas. The tropical fruitiness is quite radical, it can cut through some greasy food I guess (I’m not eating that this meal), the fruitiness is so bright and citrusy. The aftertaste feels a bit like artificial citrus flavor, combined with floral fragrance like lilac or jasmine, citrus peel, pine resin and weedy fragrances. It’s a very nice beer. I appreciate its balance flavor. And when you take sips, you can still get the spirit of “Socks and Sandals”, that fruity, easy and happy, (redwood coast) foggy forest, tropical and weedy. The balance and smooth is a key for extreme style like this TIPA, it’s not a simple “doubling down”, but an intentional amplifying of a style.
Humble Sea’s birthday beers: Socks & Sandals from 1x to 4x. I think comparing those two in the middle back to back is an intriguing idea. (Humble Sea is one of my favorite California brewer, they are from Santa Cruz which is not far from where I live.)
They are same color, if they are in same shape of glass I won’t be able to tell which one is which one by colors. Foam is thin in my pours. They both smells lemon drop, pineapple and whole oranges. I think the triple version smells stronger, a bit more jammy, with a hint of mango in the 3x too.
Side by side tasting comparison at Smoke Eaters
The 2x is soft, high viscosity, creamy and oat-ly. It’s balanced, a little bit sweet, but the bittersweet balance is back in the center each sip. Medium body. In comparison, the 3x is a bit more sticky, sweeter but still balanced, full bodied. A bit bold canned pineapple aroma burst from the triple version. When you drink these two back to back the 3x definitely eclipse the flavor and aromas in the 2x. Although the 3x has more power output, but you get those boozy feeling right away. If you don’t like your bartender over-booze your cocktails the 3x is overpowered. The 2x has the lovely redwood coast breeze, the fogs are bitter, not just take like orange juice (I’m the taste of sweetness). The 2x shows you leafy greens, evergreen resins, mandarin peel oil (less pungent but still quite citrusy). It’s a citrus centered experience, but those sea breeze and forestry experience add The Humble Sea’s signature touch. 3X brings more tropical experience, notably more ripe mangoes, pineapple, mangosteen juice, ripe melons aromas, and it’s a boozy experience. Those ripe tropical fruit aroma do not make your experience of yellow fruit goes too dark though, the citrus power can still brighten the fruity experience pretty well. The combination is a ripe tropical POG experience, maybe not the same combo of POG, but a mango, mangosteen variation. I think the earthy herbal of hops also added up giving the 3x an earthy roots sweetness, I will say a bit of earthy licorice, yam or even ginseng roots herbal? Lighter beers are easier to pair with food, the 2x is already making you feel overwhelmed and not want to eat much. I feel the 3x is at a territory that drinking is your majority of enjoyment tonight. If you are drinking with friends, go with the 1x. And if you are watching a game, go light lager instead. If you are a pro, like DIPA. This 2x is good. If you like bold, fruity, balanced stuff you will love the 3x. 4X is not tested today, but I remember the 3x is a slightly more flavorful than the 4x. If you love the more delicate experience, looking for unicorns, the. You should line up for Pliny the Younger!
I really appreciate Humble Sea’s magic of keeping the vibe consistent across this series of Socks & Sandals. The west coast version of the east coast style has a unique twist. It’s always balanced or slightly bitter, so you won’t fooled by the sugar taste. But the weedy, earthy herbal stuff just reminds you Santa Cruz is on redwood coast, it’s always foggy, and you will surf and enjoy the cold sea. Wear your socks and sandals, be a happy weirdo.
