Anchorage Bitter Monk Belgian Style Double IPA

Brewed by Anchorage Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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My Bottom Line :
This tantalizing Wild Double IPA is the setting for citrus fruit aplenty, cologne-like conifer notes and white grapes, all dallying in a perfectly pillowy mouthfeel.

Further Personal Perceptions :
-A lofty head of foam decorates the hazy blond.
-Brettanomyces melds with pine-y hops for a potent, bitter, green finish.
-The light cereal sweetness is just enough to make the relative dryness bearable (otherwise, I think the hop bitterness would have been too intense for me).
-The Chardonnay fruitiness is a perfect match to the tropical fruit-like hop personality.
-I am reminded of Lawson’s Finest’s own Wild Double IPA, but that one was sadly impossible to find.
-This is quite the introduction to a new brewery!

Bottle.

Orange with white head. Aroma of peaches,aromatic hops, yeast. Sour too. Flavour of citrus, yeast, peppe, and fruits. Bitter too. Full bodied and medium carbs.

A - Pours a hazy golden-orange color with a finger of frothy white head. The head fades down very slowly leaving behind some nice lacing. S - Aroma is full of citrus and tropical fruit hops with some grapefruit, orange, and pineapple, with some Belgian yeast, Brett, funk, lemon, and some oak. T - Starts off with lots of citrus and tropical hops with some strong grapefruit, pineapple, and orange flavor and some bitterness alongside some Belgian yeast esters coming through. Though the middle, some light pine comes through with stronger bitterness, oak, and some Brett funkiness. The finish is a mix of citrus and tropical hops, bitterness, oak, Belgian yeast, Brett, and some funk. M - Medium-plus bodied with moderate-plus carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry, bitter, and funky finish. D - Very drinkable. The combination of DIPA level of hops, Belgian yeast, Brett, and some oak aged barrel aging comes together to create a complex and very well balanced beer.

Pour out of 750 mL bottle at home, very hazy orange-yellow with big fluffy white head, all what I would expect out of yeast conditioned. Aroma is big fruity citrus, some nice tart lemon and grapefruit, grassy, pineapple, big funky brett notes, touch of biscuit and bready notes, very nice. Taste is big funky farmhouse, hay, pineapple, hints of grass, touch of biscuit, bready notes, of white white/grape notes, touch of lemon, finishing fairly bitter and dry.

Serving: 750 ml. bottle from State Line Liquors. It pours a slightly hazy gold with a rocky white head. The nose has nice floral notes with a touch of yeast, dust, perfume, and herbal hops. Really nice. The flavor has a solid up front bitterness giving way to notes of grass, yeast, brett, pine needles, and light oak. Complex and delicious. Light in body with lots of soft carbonation leading to a medium to long, bitter finish. Outstanding brew.

750mL bottle courtesy of adnielsen. Cheers, Aaron! Pours a hazy yellow with a white head. Nose is big malt, some mint, big grapefruit hops, some pine, oak, barnyard/ horse blanket, and a vinous tartness. Flavor is similar with wood all over, mint, caramel, grapefruit and pine in the hops, and that Chardonnay vinous tartness. Medium to full in body and layered with flavor.

22oz. bottle. Aroma of yeast funk, farminess (straw, wood), grapefruit, lemon, peach, spice, mild pine, florals, very faint pale, toasty malt and a touch of melon. Hazy medium golden color with a lasting, foamy head and very nice lacing. Flavor profile is dry, funky, bready, spicy, hoppy, nicely bitter and fruity, citric and very gently flowery towards the finish. Highly effervescent on the palate, very dry, body is medium-full. Shows plenty of Brett character throughout, rather complex and tasty. Nice stuff!

Bottle split with mcberko. Pours a murky orange/gold. Aroma of Belgian yeast, citrus fruits, subtle funk. Flavours of white wine, Belgian yeast, citrus hops and booze. Overall boozy, sweet, smooth and bitter. Not bad.

66 cl bottle @ home. Pours hazy amber with a fairly large head that fades pretty quickly and leaves a little lacing. Aroma is quite bretty with plenty of yeasty, musty, and fruity notes. Taste is much like the aroma.

It pours a gorgeous murky orange with a thick white head - true to the belgium style. The aroma is magnificently full of sweet fruit notes. Unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t live up to it’s aroma and appearance to me. It’s certainly not your typical IPA but after some nice fruity belgium-like notes up front, it doesn’t have much else going on for me. The beer seems like it’s confused. Is it a belgium triple or is it an IPA? I’m not a huge fan of the identity crisis. It’s just ok for me!

750 ml bottle. Pours a lightly hazy golden with a billowing white head. Aroma is super brett, oaky with plewnty of those musty and fruity notes, cheesy funk and some of the grapes mixing with a citric hop note. Flavor starts with a fruity and brett character, really just hanging out, with the citric and soft oaky character. Finishes gaining a nuttiness and even more oakly and vanilla note that lingers with some almond and fruity finish. Medium body and a crisp carbonation. Really digging this beer more and more as I drink it, so much going on and all well crafted, well balanced.