Here’s yet another beer from the Creature Comforts brewery of Athens, Georgia that’s almost impossible to find: Cosmik Debris Double India Pale Ale. The first time I saw it (or didn’t see it?) was on the Taco Mac website, it was listed on the draft menu for the Canton store. I got there the next time and there it was: gone. The keg had kicked in about a day.

That was last year; this year, I gave up on finding it. I’m getting too old to go chasing down beers. At this point, beer needs to chase me. Maybe it did just that because as I walked into Target one fine Sunday afternoon I saw a shelf full of 4-packs of Cosmik Debris. Just one problem: it was about 11 AM and you can’t buy beer here on a Sunday before 1PM. I came back though and picked one up. Good thing I did; apparently word got out because they were all gone within a few days.

I only got one 4-pack (in case you’re wondering why I only got one 4-pack) because it may be a rare beer, but it was an $11.39 a 4-pack rare beer. $11.39 (it’s $10.49 at Total Wine, but they never have it) is high for a 6-pack. Let alone a 4-pack. Still I persisted, and bought a 4-pack.

From the website:

Cosmik Debris comes in at 8%ABV and this year features Simcoe, Idaho 7, Mosaic, Cascade and Chinook hops, that together develop a bursting aroma of citrus zest, melon and subtle pine. The beer delivers a beautiful balance between firm bitterness and malt with notes of starfruit and orange marmalade on the palate.

Cosmik Debris is released in March because the newest and freshest hops are available to brewers at that time. In total, the double IPA uses five pounds of hops per barrel and is intended to be enjoyed when fresh.

 “Cosmik Debris should always be kept cold and consumed as fresh as possible,” says our Co-Founder and Brewmaster Adam Beauchamp. “Allowing it to age would lessen the brilliant, fresh aroma that we worked to infuse into the beer.”

I think they are taking that consumed fresh thingy a little too far. So, I agree that it should be kept refrigerated, and I also am of the opinion that beers like these should not be aged if you want the same juicy tropical hop flavors and aromas to survive. My cans, though, were packaged on 05/02/17 and are stamped best by 08/02/17. I think this beer will be fine even a few months past that if refrigerated, but not too much longer. Ninety Days seems too short a shelf life for an 8% double IPA. But there you go. I drank my first can on May 15^th but did not take any notes until I drank my second can on July 9^th.

Creature Comforts Cosmik Debris Double IPA pours to a hazy orange amber color with a thick creamy head and a zesty orange marmalade and passion fruit nose. Taking a sip, the beer is light on the malt but lush with tropical fruity passion fruit, pineapple, and grapefruit zest. The beer finishes very herbal grassy bitter. Too drinkable even, a very tasty fruit loopy DIPA.

I don’t like the price, although I’d be OK with it for 6 cans. I do love the fresh fruity favor; the beer is bursting with fresh juicy pineapple. I would buy it again, certainly. I think I’ll hang onto my last can (I gave one to a friend) to see how it ages.

Update 3/5/2020: History repeats itself! Sort of. Creature Comforts Cosmik Debris is sill hard to find. I saw it at Target in cans two Sunday mornings ago (just like last time!). Half the display was gone, and it was too early to buy beer then (just like last time!). By the time I returned this time, though, the rest was gone. Also different from last time, is the fact that Creature Comforts beers are featured as beers of the month at Taco Mac. One of them is Cosmik Debris.

Creature Comforts Cosmik Debris on tap at Taco Mac is light malty and bursting with citrus grapefruit rind, tropical and melon notes and light resin. It is a beer of the month that I have had in cans but never on tap. Here it is $7.15 for a 23-ounce mug with a free glass. How about that?

Update 10/14/2020: Remember that can of Cosmik Debris from 2017 I told you I was hanging onto? Well here I am to talk about it! Note well, I have kept this refrigerated the entire time. The beer is smoother with age, with permeating light citrusy hops but not much tropical character left. Overall, still a very enjoyable brew, and I did score a six pack this year to boot.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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