Nerd Nectar Hazy IPA  

Review Date 5/24/2016 Last Updated 8/5/2018 By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Ale   Brewery: Green Man   Country: USA   State: North Carolina   $ Per OZ: $.20 (B)   ABV: 6.8%

What’s the difference between a nerd and a geek? I’m glad you asked that question. Classically, the dividing line is based on focus of attention. A nerd is more attentive to science, math, and serious learning for its own sake. This always makes me think of the episode of classic Star Trek, The Trouble with Tribbles, where Kirk walks in on Scotty. Scotty has his nose buried in technical manuals, and Kirk asks “Don’t you ever relax?”, to which Scotty replies, “I am relaxing.” That is a nerd.

Geeks, on the other hand, are more often associated with hobbies and fanboy status. Games, movies, Science Fiction, comics, and techy gadgets; these are all in the realm of geeks. Think of the Saturday Night Live skit where William Shatner as Captain Kirk is being asked trivial questions about Star Trek, and in frustration replies “Get a life!....move out of your parent's basements!” The crowd of fanboys would be geeks.

There is of course some intersection between the two. The fact that I used Star Trek to illustrate both terms makes me, I suppose, a geek.

You, however, are here to read about beer, and I will get to the point that both terms apply to beer. Beer geeks are everywhere, they’re always trying new beers, new styles, and visiting new breweries. The geekiest of beer geeks are tickers, and once they try a new beer, they never want to drink it again.

Beer nerds, on the other hand, are usually brewers. They could be commercial brewers or homebrewers, but the science of brewing and the culinary aspects are of utmost importance to them. To be sure, they do drink beer other than their own, but often in the context of improving the beer they brew.

For my part, I suppose I am more of a beer geek than a beer nerd. I find the science of brewing fascinating, and to be sure I have brewed beer a number of times in my many years on this Earth. Still, I am much more interested in trying and reviewing a wide array of beers, as you can no doubt tell if you’ve read even a few of the almost 4000 reviews I have posted here on Guruofbrew.com. Rest assured, I am not a ticker, however. The entire point of trying all these beers is to find ones I really enjoy, so that I can drink them again.

Now that I’ve rambled on, I can assure you that both beer geeks and beer nerds alike can appreciate Nerd Nectar Hazy IPA from the Green Man brewery of Asheville, North Carolina. It is, as you guessed, what sent me down this train of thought to begin with.

Green Man says:

We've been nerding out about beer again! This New England-style IPA is hopped at 6 lbs/bbl and Double Dry hopped with NZ hop varietals Nectaron & Motueka, packing an explosion of tropical fruit aromas and flavors. Your taste buds will be delighted by juicy notes of nectarine & peach rings, fruit cocktail cups, accent notes of ruby red grapefruit pith, light papaya & mango. A hint of resiny dankness finishes off this smooth hoppy nectar.

Green Man Nerd Nectar Hazy IPA has an alcohol content of 6.8% by volume, I bought a single at Total Wine but cannot find how much I paid for it. They currently have it listed on their website for $14.49 a six-pack in Greenville, North Carolina. This seems high to me. My can has no freshness dating.

Green Man Nerd Nectar Hazy IPA pours to a hazy light orange color with a thick pillow white head and a nose of fresh citrus tangerine and tropical mango. Taking a sip, the beer is light to medium in body with a pronounced tangerine bite. There’s stone fruit peach (just a hint) and tropical mango and pineapple and in the finish a bitter citrus peel bite.

I found this quite refreshing and delicious and would certainly buy it again. I do so love Green Man beers and hope to see this on tap at Taco mac or the Harrah’s Valley River casino.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??