“West Coast style Double IPA, brewed with Columbus, Chinook, Centennial & Simcoe hops.”
Glassware: IPA glass.
Appearance: Nice bold amber pour with a finger and a half of beige foam over the top. Good retention and good lace work as we imbibe.
Aroma: Pine, pine and more pine! Copious amounts of it but that can be expected when your hop bill reads Columbus, Chinook, Centennial and Simcoe. There’s a lovely malt structure here too, almost red IPA-like with its big caramelised sweetness. Superb.
Flavour: Pine, cocktail fruit and chewy caramel come on strong. That 8.1% ABV certainly doesn’t hide as it warms up the mouth (and the belly!). It may be getting a bit too cloying through the mid as those fleshy stone fruits start turning a little artificial. That paired with the super sweet caramel malts ends in an unbalanced finish along with a piercing alcohol burn in the tail.
Mouthfeel: Sharp and super astringent. 8.1% ABV and 70 IBU – both unbalanced. Medium body and co2.
Overall: What started so well went completely downhill. The aroma is lovely but the flavour profile is very untidy and extremely booze heavy. Slightly disappointed.