Aspetuck Brew Lab Releases Cans of DDH Turbidity Lucidity

In our ever-lasting quest to support local breweries, Beers on Window Sills took a quick trip to Aspetuck Brew Lab to pick up a six pack of their latest release: the DDH Turbidity Lucidity IPA. My stay was brief, but the delight I draw from the beers I picked up there will be with me for a while.

If you haven’t heard of Aspetuck Brew Lab—to be honest, I hadn’t until a few months ago—it’s located in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport, CT. The 7-barrel brewery was founded by the husband and wife team of Peter and Tara Cowles, who opened up the 50-person tap room and brew lab in December of 2015. In doing so, they became the first beer-makers to open a brewery in Bridgeport since 1940.

Peter was an avid home brewer for the better part of two decades, and was inspired to turn his hobby into a business after winning several awards at the National Homebrew Competition in the early part of this decade. He’s the chief beer scientist at the lab. Tara—using her vast experience in marketing and business—handles the day-to-day management of the brewery and brand.

The company goes all in on the “lab” aspect of their brand. They’re constantly experimenting with new beers and beer types—Cowles has won awards for over 40 of his creations—and they consider good beer to be “elementary.” You can see by their logo that they mean business when it comes to their science.

Aspetuck Brew Lab Sign
Check out this very scientific logo. (credit: Martin Stezano / Beers on Window Sills)

That brings us to the release in question, the DDH Turbidity Lucidity. If we are to take the scientific approach with this review, we should first define the words in this name. According to Merriam-Webster, the word Turbid has been around since 1626. It means “thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment.” In beer terms, that “roiled sediment” means that enticing haze you see when you pour the beer.

Lucidity, says M-W, means “clearness of thought or style.” How can something be clear and hazy? It’s not a brain teaser. Just crack this can, and you’ll soon come to find that hazyness of this brew couldn’t be more clear. It comes from the Double dose of delicious Dry Hopping, as well as the two kinds of lupulin powder used in the brewing process–Simcoe and Mosaic.

Beyond the appearance, and the lovely citrus smell, you’ll find this American IPA to be smooth and juicy, too. There’s a bit of a bitter finish, but at 60 IBUs, it’s not like it’ll make your face contort or anything. As it warmed up, I found those nice flavors came through a little more, which made this beer all the better by the time I took down the last drop. Another nice part about this was that, when I did finish, I was ready for another. It’s fairly session-able, at 6.0% ABV.

If you noticed the bottle next to the cans of DDH Turbidity Lucidity in the photo at the top of this post, that’s a Saison that was released last week called Symbiosis. According to the official description on Aspetuck.com, it’s brewed “with a touch of oats, wheat and rye, then dry-hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Lemond Drop.” I’ll definitely be reviewing this on Instagram at some point, too, so be sure to check us out in the next couple of weeks.

Although I’ve heard some questionable things about a couple of the beers Aspetuck distributes to bars in the area, I think the true measure of a beer is how it tastes when it’s fresh from a tap—or fresh off the bottling or canning lines—in the brewery itself. For me, it’s so far so good from Aspetuck. If you’re in the Bridgeport area, head on down for a couple of pints.

As always, save one for the Window Sill.
 

Check out the Turbidity Lucidity on Instagram: