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Hyper Saturation by Cabin Brewing

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Super Saturation by Cabin is a benchmark of sorts for Alberta hazy IPAs. In the hazy history of New England-style IPAs in this province that likely exists only in my head, I think of Super Saturation as the beer that dethroned Blindman Brewing's New England Pale Ale, an early (and unimaginatively named) entry to the style in this province. Blindman was the first brewery here that I can think of that added a hazy to their core release program.

Since the origins of Super Saturation, Cabin has released a number of variations on that beer—or at least leaned into the name with releases like Saturation, Super Duper Saturation, Summer Saturation, and Total Saturation. And now comes Hyper Saturation, which I picked up on a recent visit to Sip Liquor Market, a local bottle shop not far from my home.

Is this new Hyper Saturation release worth of the Saturation name and history? In a word, no. At least not the particular can that I tried on a lazy Sunday winter afternoon.

Appearance: I had an inkling that I would be disappointed by this beer the moment that I poured it into a glass chalice from Irrational Brewing's second anniversary party. The colour was much more orange than the yellow gold I was expecting and it was dull, almost dark—a characteristic I've come to associate with oxidation in hazy IPAs.

Aroma: Hyper Saturation smelled very sweet, like Jolly Ranchers. It was hard to pick out distinctive fruit or vegetal flavours—mostly an overwhelming sweetness.

Flavour: Whereas Super Saturation is bright and fresh with sharp citrus flavours, this particular variation had the sugary fake taste of orange candies. There was a slight herbaceous note in the mix that did not add anything to the overall profile.

Mouthfeel: Hyper Saturation is fuller and denser than my preference in hazy IPAs. I'm a fan of the pillowy, fluffy body that you experience with great examples of the style. You need the right water profile and the proper combination of grains that often include oats and wheat. Both are present in this beer but that New England-style mouthfeel is unfortunately not.

Overall: Not good. I doubt this is what Cabin intended. Is it a bad recipe? Hard to say. It could just as easily be the result of oxidation during the cold side of the brewing operation or perhaps an issue during canning. Either way, I dumped this one after writing the notes I used to put together this review.

Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5.

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