Thanks to the magic of online ordering and contact-free delivery I was able to acquire some new beer to review. We’ve since run out of the old ones. My girlfriend ordered me some beers from Foxtrot’s delivery service, likely more for her own sanity by giving me something to do rather than full altruism. She made an excellent choice in Hopewell Brewing’s Stay Well – an Azacca Pale Ale.

To my knowledge, this is the first primarily Azacca hopped beer that I’ve consumed – and it did not disappoint. It’s wonderfully clear and has a truly mesmerizing golden color. I feel like my organs are slowly turning to gold, like this beer is some kind of liquid King Midas (this is a good thing).

If I were an even bigger idiot than I am and you wanted to convince me that mangoes grew on pine trees, the aroma and taste of this beer could probably convince me. In both smell and taste, this beer is incredibly well balanced between the spice and bite of pine with the tartness and sweetness we associate with Mangoes. Pineapple is more present in taste than in the beer’s scent, and I picked up a subtle hint of grapefruit on the back end of my sip. It’s incredibly tasty.

Boasting 4.7% abv is also another way to get on my good side. As our dear readers already know, between my co-brewer and myself, I’m partial to lower abv brews – the ones you can sip forever without getting hammered.

Overall, I really liked this beer. The four-banger of tall cans my girlfriend bought went quickly – I even had to make sure I saved this last one to do a proper review.

There’s more to Stay Well than just the beer’s taste, though. As the can notes, the proceeds from this beer directly support staff affected by the COVID-19 crisis. From an ethical standpoint, I can’t stress how important it is to many consumers to see this. A company that invests in and cares for its employees will always produce a better product. Thanks for the beer Hopewell, keep it up!