Belt’s Beer Garden: Star Pours

NoDa Brewing Company opened their doors in October of 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina and very quickly they made a name for themselves.

At the 2012 Great American Beer Fest their coconut porter, Coco Loco, won a silver medal. Then, just two years later, their most well-known and sought after beer - Hop Drop N’ Roll - won the 2014 World Beer Cup gold medal. Since then they have opened two additional locations and added four more GABF medals.

Today, I have one of their specialty brews - Haze So-Low. This low-cal, low-carb IPA features a 4.3% ABV and was hopped with Citra, CTZ, Ekuanot, and Mosaic hops. I bought this 16-ounce can for $3.25 and it was packaged on July 14th but, when opened on January 5th, it still appeared to be good.

Haze So-Low poured a hazy orange straw color with about two fingers of thin, bubbly foam. The bubbles quickly fizzled away, leaving just a few around the rim of the glass.

The aroma was packed with super juicy notes of oranges and tangerine. Underneath the citrus a tiny, tiny hop note added some acidic pineapple and the grist added a light cereal component in the form of flaked wheat.

The brew both looked and smelled like a mimosa and I couldn’t wait to dive in.

A small fizzle of carbonation started it off and continued to hum underneath for the majority of the sip. From there a small burst of orange appeared, bringing with it a juicy quality that only lasted for a few moments.

Unfortunately, outside of that quick pop of flavors, the beer was rather light...as if someone mixed a few splashes of orange juice into LaCroix.

However, on the back end the sip, the hops really amped themself up and brought a surprisingly bitter orange peel flavor that lingered on for a few minutes after everything else. The beer also finished incredibly dry. Between the pithy flavor and dryness, having a glass of water nearby is almost needed.

It takes a few sips to get used to the beer. I will admit, I was iffy on it during the first few swigs but, by the time I was halfway through the pint, it had already really started to grow on me.

Haze So-Low finishes like a West Coast IPA while drinking much lighter and being a bit healthier than most IPAs. Once you get used to the dryness and the hoppy finish, it’s actually a pretty tasty low-calorie, low-carb beer.