4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pours a transparent bright copper orange with a spotty-lacing clingy white head. Aroma of fresh resiny piny hops and sweet caramel malt. Body starts with a nice fullness and carbonation throughout with sticky juicy grapefruity bittering and flavor hops before a drier, bittersweet finish. Smooth and well-balanced. A nice brew that I hope they add to their regular lineup.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Originally reviewed: 6/3/09. Big thanks to Kiefdog for this ’extra’ brew in a recent trade. Knocked one off my wants list...
First off, this is a very pretty beer. Pours a deep gold honey color with a huge off-white head bursting forth. Excellent retention, and it leaves some very pretty sticky lacing on the glass. Smells very sweet like caramel and buttered bread. Some faint floral in there, but nothing overpoweringly hoppy. I’m a little surprised at this as it’s a DIPA.
Mouthfeel is a little slick and watery. Could stand a little more carbonation. Flavor is very sweet, mirroring the scent. Big malty caramel flavor all over this. Finishes bitter, but faintly. This is an interesting DIPA. This is more like an Imperial Pale Ale, rather than a Double IPA. A little too sweet for the style, but a good beer nonetheless.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
UPDATED: MAR 11, 2012 Bottle. Hazy orange pour with a nice soapy head. Aroma of light esters and sweetness. Medium palate. Taste is caramel, grass, and a touch of booze.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Pours a cloudy amber orange. Nice thick head and plenty of lacing left behind. The aroma is floral, sweet, caramel, oranges, woody. Medium to full bodied. Very bitter with a cloying toffee like maltiness to balance it out nearly perfectly. Nice and fruity, lots of juicy citrus, burnt sugar, resin, slight oxidation, lots of earthy, woodiness, almost oaky, some alcohol. Long, strong finish. Very good, drink it now if you have it, probably peaked about 6-8 months ago, should be downhill from here.
3.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
22 ounce bottle found in my storage. Pours a cloudy copper amber with a nice off-white head. Aroma of pine, citrus and malt. Taste is floral hops, caramel, malt, and citrus. Nice bitter finish. Excellent.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Bottle back in 08. Pours a clear amber with a medium off-white head. Grapefruit and pine hop aromas with a hint of caramel. Very hoppy flavor with notes of citrus, pine and grass. Great bitter finish. Loved this one.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle to my New Belgium glass. Pours a hazy honey colored amber with a foamy kahki head that lasts and shows lacing. Aroma is sweet sugary caramel with a mix of citrus and pine. Taste is soft bitterness with a really nice caramel mix that includes some nuts, toffee, lemon and pine. Palate is medium to full with a creamy chalky body that leaves a dry finish. For this being a few years old I felt it held up well!
3.8 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Hazy amber, off-white head. Aroma of american hops, caramalts, flowers, ...: very well balanced with a nice complexity. Harshly bitter, heavily sweet flavour: nicely balanced with an ok complexity. Very nice.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
22 oz. bottle via trade with michael-pollack- thanks, Pollack! Pours a cloudy amber-tinted gold that gets hazier at the bottom. Small white head that quickly settles into a ring. Aroma suggests this is past its prime, with some cardboard-like oxidation notes- they don’t ruin it, though. Sweet malts, toffee, toasted brown sugar, resin, and earth follow. The flavor follows suit but comes together more smoothly. Sweet and malty, with a bit of an underlying woodiness. Mellow carbonation, and light-medium bodied. Still drinking pretty nicely but won’t get better probably.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Poured from a bottle into a snifter. Appearance is a hazy amber to copper color with a thick, beige head of foam that leaves thick, splotchy lacing. Aroma is resiny and floral with a thick bready, caramel/toffee presence. Taste is lightly bitter on the front of the tongue, giving way to a woody, roasty note and a long, dry finish. Aftertaste is made up of alcohol and toffee.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bomber shared at the July Santa Cruz tasting. Pours hazy bronze with a light tan head. Aroma is chiefly caramel malts and aged hops, a bit dusty but still with some life to it. Flavor displays some big pineapple notes, just as strong and hoppy as a lot of fresh double IPAs. There is however plenty of aged character with muddled crystal and caramel malts and mild isovaleric notes. Respectable bitterness, heavy syrupy body. Not bad for an ancient DIPA.
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