Written By: The Gnarly Gnome
Folks… they’ve been sneaking it in right under our noses. MadTree’s flagship IPA, Psychopathy, got a lot of attention in the last few months with the debut of its new, refreshed personality – while at the same time, its latest core IPA, Seeing Colors, has been quietly growing behind the scenes, too.
Recently, the TTB approved a new MadTree label, so I decided to dust off the keyboard and share my thoughts about this new brand family.
About Seeing Colors
Seeing Colors debuted in September 2023 as a year-round addition to the MadTree lineup, filling the core lineup void of a Hazy IPA (I know, I know, nerd… say what you want about the style; it’s here to stay – but we’ll get to why you might like this recent news).
The beer brings together El Dorado and Citra hops to create a hoppy beer that is packed full of tropical, juicy, fruity flavors in a full hazy bodied package that stands out distinctly against the Cascade, Chinook, and Centennial that makes up their Psychopathy IPA.
It’s a great beer, and I can only assume (and hope) that if you’re a regular Cincinnati beer drinker, you’ve tried it at this point.
The Current Brand Family
The first release that took Seeing Colors from a single beer into a brand family was the release of ‘Double Seeing Colors.’ It wasn’t just a bigger version of the same beer, though. It brings Mosaic hops into the mix and kicks everything up a couple of notches. I’d go as far as to say that Double Seeing Colors is even better than the original for my palate. It’s a great beer.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s also available in 19.2oz cans at my favorite gas stations.
Next, late last year, they kept things rolling with a new addition: Tropical Seeing Colors. Vista and Motueka hops combine in this one to elevate a beer that is already super fruity and tropical to a new level. It’s wonderful—and a perfect addition to a growing family. It really started to show that even within a growing brand family like Seeing Colors has, MadTree isn’t afraid to lean into (and away from) the original to create beers that provide a little bit of their own personality.
The trio of beers all manage to snag a different part of the hazy IPA spectrum and fill out the lineup perfectly… the next (possible) release, though – takes a different turn, and it’s one that I think is timed perfectly and gets me pretty pumped.
Hazy Goes West Coast
I have to put the disclaimer out there before I keep going… this is all speculation. Reckless speculation, maybe. When a label comes through the TTB it’s far from a guarantee that we’re going to see that beer in packaging. It just means that the brewery has gotten approval of the label if they decide to release it.
That said, it’s usually a good indication of where they want to go in the near future.
As I was scrolling through the recent list of labels, one almost slipped right past me: a new Seeing Colors label. I figured they’d updated some verbiage, or a little artwork tweak, or something mundane. Upon my second look at it, though – my eyes nearly bugged out. This was not just Seeing Colors… it was West Coast Seeing Colors.
What business does a Hazy IPA have with a West Coast tag in front of it? Sure, they could be calling a hazy, hop-forward beer a West Coast IPA (lord knows, we’ve seen other breweries do that before), but that’s not the MadTree method. I think that if they are going to call a beer a “West Coast,” – that beer will be what it claims to be.
How It Fits In
When you look at the entire Seeing Colors brand family from a top-down view, it becomes clear that West Coast is the glaring part missing. I say this knowing that especially if this brand family is going to find its way into a 12-can variety pack – which would be a perfect addition to the shelf of your favorite beer store (and would make a lot of sense now that we’ll have four different beers…)
While you can always make an IPA variety pack that includes Psychopathy alongside a few different Seeing Colors variants – using the brand to showcase small shifts in the same personality is much more logical (and fun for me as a drinker.)
I anticipate that this ‘West Coast Seeing Colors’ will lean away from the Danky, Piney personality that Psychopathy showcases and stick with the bright, citrusy personality of the rest of its family. A more “modern” West Coast IPA. I also think we’ll probably see a beer with a little less of a full-bodied malt backbone than what we’ve come to love from Psychopathy.
They Really Don’t Let Up, Do They?
MadTree is on absolute fire. Their new taproom over at Summit Park in Blue Ash is just weeks away from a Grand Opening (and I think it’s going to be an incredible taproom) – they are still riding high on their status as a BCorp – and after taking over their own food program in-house after the departure of their longtime food partner.
I think that the coming year is going to be wild. I anticipate that we’ll see some great new products on both the beer side – and especially on the side of their Vodka Seltzers, Sway.
MadTree has gotten really, really good at watching and listening to their fanbase to see what they want to be available. Whether or not the customers that will be bellied up to the bar at their new taproom are looking for the same thing as those in Oakley will be clear very quickly – and I know that MadTree will adjust and provide just as quickly.
That’s some cool stuff… and it makes my mouth water.
