Oh no! Have you heard the news? There’s an aluminum can shortage! We’ve been through lots of shortages over the years, I remember an oil shortage in 1978, a hop shortage in 2008 (quelle horreur!), and earlier this year, an inexplicable toilet paper shortage. Today, though, there is an aluminum can shortage that is affecting all sorts of beverages, including beer. The reason is Covid 19: people are drinking canned and bottled beverages at home rather than from draft and fountain at restaurants and bars. Most severely impacted are the slim 12-ounce cans that hold beers like Sixpoint Mirror Image Hazy IIPA.

These cans have become popular packaging for the hard seltzers that are the current fad. Sixpoint has been using them well before hard seltzers reared their heads, not that that makes the shortage any easier for them. Be that as it may, I managed to snag a six-pack of Mirror Image recently.

Sixpoint says:

We could call this one a lot of things. A reflected duplication, maybe. A beer reversed in the direction perpendicular to the surface…or an optical effect that results from the reflection off substances such as water (or beer). Here’s what you have to know: when you flip the script and scour the Southern Hemisphere for your hops, you can create huge, explosive flavors that express themselves as insane blasts of fruity and tropical notes with remarkable complexity. You just can’t get these flavors from anywhere else. Now it’s your turn—flip it one more time. Bottoms up.

Sixpoint Mirror Image Hazy IIPA has an alcohol content of 8% by volume with 16 IBUs and I paid..hey wait a minute! 16 IBUs??? In case you hadn’t figured it out, IIPA stands for “Imperial India Pale Ale”. But..16 IBUs for an imperial IPA? The Beer Judge Certification program cites a range of 60-120 IBUs for the style.

I’ve noticed an alarming trend amongst these New England Style IPAs and imperial IPAs to really dumb down the bitterness, which is a shame, because I like bitterness. It serves especially well in this style to reinforce the grapefruit notes (when present) and to balance off the at times overpowering fruit notes. Anyway, as I was saying, I paid $10.79 for my six-pack, and my cans are marked CANNED 18 JUN 2020 BB 15 DEC 2020. Sixpoint says the beer is brewed with Enigma, Galaxy, and Vic Secret hops.

Sixpoint Mirror Image Hazy IIPA pours to a hazy orange juice color with a thick fluffy white head and a citrusy grapefruit and pineapple nose. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body with juicy pineapple, orange and grapefruit notes. There’s grapefruit pith and flesh (but not rind), because what’s missing here is the bitterness. Some guava notes suggest fresh POG juice, and a hint of vanilla is present beneath the surface.

Tasty enough, but as these beers go, I have had much better, and the dearth of bitterness makes this a one and done for me.

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, canned

(D)=Draft

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