Beer reviews: Uinta "The Juice Is Loose" and Proper Kentucky Common 

• Mike Riedel

Uinta - The Juice Is Loose: This new IPA was found at Uinta's brewery pub, and was identified on Uinta's "Limited" tap handle. From what I understand, this new Juicy Session IPA will go into a larger production schedule, and will even find itself packaged in cans around Utah.

A light orange coloring has a good clarity factor, with a centralized source of effervesce. An off-white head adorns the top of the shaker glass, providing a slight ring band of lacing around the vessel. Fresh citrus was dripping wet on the nose, juicy with some pine indications. Damp floral emerged, along with some fresh tropical pineapple, mingling with a light citrus-lime note. Good strength overall, including some damp oranges and floral blossoms on the fade.

The flavor is bright and tart, as tangy oranges have some slightly dry floral leaf hopping as a complement. Some pine and sweet grains are present, with a light, dry citrus grind finish. The distinct bright orange glow comes on strong mid-drink, along with some dank hop appeal, then a finish of dry peach and fruity floral. The light mouthful is session style, offering some honey grains, smooth feel and a medium stickiness—lightly creamy, with good depth as it builds.

Verdict: You get a nice hop experience from a session ale that offers a bright burst of juicy hops featuring a wide variety of flavors. Brightly hopped, very strong drinkability, and worthy of respect in regards to its 5.0 percent ABV.

Proper - Kentucky Common: The Kentucky Common style is an old American style that was almost exclusively produced and sold around the Louisville, Ky. area from the Civil War up to Prohibition. Some modern versions can have a slight lactic sourness to them; this offering, from Proper Brewing, does not.

This brew pours a polished color of dark copper with a constant stream of bubbles rising to the surface in support of the creamy finger of off-white head. It dissolves to a thin film across the top, with large bubbles that collect and hold around the edge of the glass. A light swirl revives the cap, producing some faint strings of lacing on the glass.

The aroma of this brew has a touch of corn straight out the gate as the bottle is being poured. The maize aspect lasts, but gets overtaken by some sweet grainy scents and a light fruited quality—possibly a product of the hops, but more likely a bit of the yeast is coming across to accent this fruited aspect. Once this brew approaches room temperature, a swirl creates a light nutty cheese scent that seems a bit out of place here, but adds an interesting twist to this brew.

The taste is grainy, with lots of residual sweetness that turns to a biscuit aspect as the brew warms. There is a mild bitterness of hops, slightly herbal trying to balance out the sweetness but it isn't overwhelming. Some minor corn is evident, with a sweet flavor that couples with the herbal hops and lasts into the finish with a slight grassy taste and some nuttiness. Fairly crisp for the style, with a lasting taste of that fresh grain appeal.

Verdict: This is a medium-to-light-bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation, and the 5.0 percent alcohol seems perfect for the style. The focus here isn't to be a historically accurate beer, but rather just to give you an idea of what this style is all about.

Kentucky Common is on draft at all Proper locations; try it with Proper's Steamy Wonder, a California Common, to see if you can find differences. Of course, we'll keep you up to date on the distribution on The Juice is Loose when all that happens. As always, cheers!