Boulder Beer Co. Hazed & Infused

Today seemed like a good day to try the Hazed & Infused that came in the Boulder Beer Co. sampler that I picked up earlier in the week.  I'm not always thrilled with dry-hopped beers, since they tend to seem very sharp or harsh to me, like the hop flavors would be better if they had more of a chance to mellow.  So, I went in sort of expecting to be disappointed, and I really didn't think I would like this beer:

Appearance: 8/10

The head poured very thin and fell pretty quickly.  The beer itself fits smack dab in the amber range, and the head is off-white.  It's unfiltered and therefore cloudy (hence, "hazed").  Overall, looks fairly appealing.

Aroma: 20/25
The aroma is primarily hoppy, which is exactly what I was expecting to smell.  The hop aroma consists of floral, spicey, citrusy, and piney notes.  A smooth malt background is also detectable.  The hop aroma isn't overpowering; instead, it's subtle and mellow, and it draws you in.

Taste: 34/40
I was truly surprised.  As I mentioned, I went into tasting this beer with a negative expectation, but I actually liked it quite a bit.  It does have that dry-hopped taste, but it isn't overpowering.  None of the hops flavors are overpowering.  They're all nicely in balance, without that sharpness that I often associate with dry-hopped beers.  The pine, floral, and citrus flavors came through the strongest for me, but they were pleasant and enjoyable, and I didn't feel like I got sucker punched by a ton of hop bitterness.  I like the way Boulder was able to emphasize the hop flavors without accentuating the hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: 8/10
Low to moderate levels of carbonation add to the full-bodied feel without the sting.  The 5% abv leaves no alcohol-warmth, which is good, because I think that warmth would detract from this beer.  The beer itself feels a little silky in the mouth and finishes slightly dry.

Style: 5/5
This is a little tricky, since Boulder Beer's website lists this as an amber ale, while sites like BeerAdvocate say it's an American Pale Ale (APA).  I tend to agree with the brewer here, and the color fits the SRM range of amber ales better.  Boulder's website doesn't list the IBUs for this beer, which also makes this a wee bit tricky.  However, APAs have a slightly higher expected IBU range (30-45) than amber ales (25-40), and as I said before, this isn't an overly bitter beer.  It does have a lot of the hop characteristics, but the bitterness isn't very aggressive, so I'd guess that the IBUs are in a slightly lower range.  When considering this beer as an amber, I think it's spot on.

Drinkability: 8/10
This is a surprisingly drinkable beer, since it doesn't pack that bitter punch or the heavy bitter aftertaste that many dry-hopped beers have.  It's a great beer to drink with a meal, and it would pair well with any foods that aren't very light or very heavy.

Overall: 83/100
I'm not surprised that this beer came out so similar to the last Boulder beer that I had.  I like that the emphasis on these two beers has been balance.  It gives me hope that the rest of their beers will follow suit, and if that's the case, then I would probably place Boulder Beer Co. a little higher on my list of all-time favorite brewers.

Maybe I'll try the Sweaty Betty next.  Cheers!