Alpine Beer Company Duet

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Alpine, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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A solid pour into my Lost Abbey Teku glass produces almost a two-finger thick, pale tan colored head that leaves quite a bit of lacing on the sides of my glass as I slowly work my way through this beer. The beer is a murky, copper tinged, amber color that shows a fairly hazed (though I can see the lettering on the other side of my glass if I hold it up just right) pale amber tinged, copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells nicely dank smelling; it is quite thick with hop aromatics that leans towards hemp oil, a slight garlic-chive note and cheesy pine needles that are all backed by a bright fruit notes of lychee and tangelo zest. The herbal character is definitely dominant, with the fruit playing a supporting role and nothing of the malt being noticeable at this point. If you really dig into the aroma the hops take on a woody and pepper like character; and the woody character really seems to be accentuated as the beer warms up. Really though this just reminds me of sticking my head into a bag of fresh “hemp” buds.

A touch of sweetness up front is accentuated more from the hop fruit character than sweet malt, but both play a part. The beer dries out as it rolls across my tongue and there is a herbaceous hop character that lingers with notes of pine, piquant hemp oil, very woody pepper and just a green hop quality. This is not aggressively bitter (especially considering how hoppy this beer is overall), though there is a fairly gripping bitterness to this beer that is accentuated a bit by a light carbonic bite from the low-medium level of carbonation here. Some touches of garlic chive and cheesy dank hops adds a definite edge to this IPA. The fruit character is perhaps a touch more subdued than it was in the nose, but does contribute flavors of lychee, tangelo, grapefruit zest and bright Curacao orange peel; the last three get accentuated in the finish as the beer lingers on the palate. Some soft, cracker like grain character comes out towards the finish of each sip as the beer warms up, but the malt definitely plays a secondary, supporting role here. This beer is pretty light and quaffable, especially for its strength and this is exactly what I like to see in an IPA.

I wonder if this still only has Simcoe and Amarillo hops in it, this tastes awfully dank and herbal for those two hops alone, or perhaps the crop they used was fairly different from what I am used to. Definitely a hop lovers IPA, my personal preference wishes that more of the bright fruit character from the Amarillo hops came through, but this certainly serves up a needed hop fix right quickly.

at brewery. Good aroma, sweet, orange, peach, clean golden orange color, small head, minor lace. Bitersweet flavor. medium body, creamy oily mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. Darn tasty, aroma had nice range. had to use notes on phone as cell coverage was poor.

Bottle to oversized snifter (thanks urbancaver). Looks good; prong with little head or lacing. Smells great; hoppy goodness. Tastes Damn good. A little low on CO2, but WONDERFULLY balanced. Very good stuff!

On tap at Apex. They get a nice bite from just 45 IBUs. citrus and corn flake aroma. yeloow amber with modest white head. a litel bit of body but still crisp. flavor has alittle malt presence with the lemony flavor and some green hop notes

Aroma is orange and other citrus. Low carbonation with a clear golden color. Taste is perfect with a great balance of hops and malt back. This one of the best IPA's I've ever tasted. Finish leaves you craving the next swallow. Craftsmanship at its finest. Tasted out of a bomber brought back from SD. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

bottle. clear amber with small white head. aroma and flavor of resinous, herbal hops. massive dank marijuana and skunks cannabis. fresh and excellent. crisp, refreshing. an excellent ipa

Bottle thanks tom, pours a nice head, aroma is nice a citursy and the flavour is quite nice, it has a very full body and a light bitterness. Good offering

Bottle @ Dans place, Denver. Pours golden with a white head. Aroma of light toasted malt, huge citrusly hops, grapefruit. Taste is malt, toast, citrusly hops, grapefruit. Thin to medium body, soft carbonation, lightly bitter finish. Nice and highly refreshing beer. 070312

A pretty decent beer. A bit of a grapefruity taste, but not too bitter, and also some floral notes. Would drink again.

UPDATED: APR 4, 2012 Bottle @ Dan’s house. Clear, golden appearance with an off white head. Sweet grapefruity, earthy hoppy, orange citrusy, light ganja aroma. Rich, tangy grapefruit, orange, pineapple citrusy, creamy, sweet pale malty flavor. Nice brew.

From notes. First reviewed 11/24/2010. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Duet is a slightly hazy, mostly translucent golden color with an absolutely monster head, to the point of annoyance. Even with a careful pour, I still have to wait a few minutes for the head to go down to finish the pour. Obviously good retention and lots of lacing. Amarillo and Simcoe hops control the nose - juicy grapefruit, sticky pine, and some floral notes to round out the aroma. Not much malt here, just some pale malt to get started. Hop flavors quickly overwhelm everything else. Bitter pine flavors dominate, with citrus and floral notes playing second fiddle. Finishes firmly bitter, slightly astringent, with a dash of alcohol. Creamy and very crisply carbonated. On the light side of medium body, and it drinks even lighter. This is not my favorite offering from Alpine, but they do amazing things with hops.