Beer of the Weekend #975: Kick It

The beer of the weekend reminded me of A Tribe Called Quest song: Kick It, brewed by the Gezellig Brewing Company of Newton, Iowa.



Serving type: 16-ounce can. “WHAT’S THAT NOISE 06/01/22” is printed on the bottom.

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is hazy deep gold. About a finger of off-white, bubbly, buttery head leaves a skim and collar.

Smell: I can smell pineapple from an arm’s length away. It is very tropical and enticing. Pineapple, mango, orange. It evokes white-sand beaches, palm trees, and gentle waves. It is very much like a tropical smoothie.

Flavor: Very tropical, much like the aroma, but it is also has that green/vegetal flavor when a hazy is too hazy. There are flavors of pineapple, orange, grapefruit, and maybe passionfruit. It has a nice bitterness that vies for prominence, but the green/vegetal haziness keeps everything in check, unfortunately; none of the flavors really shine because of it.

Fun facts about Kick It:

• Style: Hazy IPA.

• Price: $16.49 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans from Benz Beverage Depot in Cedar Rapids. Over $4 for each of these cans is way too much.

• Alcohol content: 6.25 percent ABV.

• Here is the description from the can and website:

You've gotta fight for your right for this Hazy IPA. Brewed with pale malted barley, wheat and oats. It's dry hopped with Mosaic and Eclipse hops for a big mix of fruity and citrus characteristics that you'll want to party with.

• I assumed the beer’s name is a reference to “Can I Kick It” by A Tribe Called Quest. Having read that description (and made the obvious realization about the phrase printed on the bottom), it’s named after “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” by the Beastie Boys.

The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.