3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
On tap at SD strong ale fest 09. Amber pour, off-white head. Caramel malt, grapefruit, citrus, hops. Pretty standard IIPA, nothing that stands out to much, but still a decent beer.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
A: The pour is a nice golden color with a minimal amount of white head.
S: This isn’t all that aromatic for a Double IPA. Some sweet citrus and tropical fruit notes, maybe a hint of pine, too. Plenty of sweet caramel malts.
T: The flavor is decent enough, with a nice bitter hop bite up front and also on the very finish. Some grapefruit and bitter orange peel along with a grassy note on the back end.
M: The body is medium with a light to medium level of carbonation.
D: I think this might not have been at the peak of freshness (mostly due to the aroma), but still a decent beer. Turned out to be one of the better Back Street beers available on this trip.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Clear amber color/ white head. Nice pine and floral hop aromas. Creamy smooth mouthfeel. Good floral, tooty fruity spicy hop flavors on toasted caramel.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap @ Pizza Port Strong Ale fest 2009. Pours a lightly hazed reddish amber color with a small off white ring. Nose if light with citrus hops, caramel malt and quite boozy. Flavor is much of the same, nothing too exciting.
3.5 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Decent IIPA but nothing special. The main things that stand out about this beer are the bold bitterness and the bold alcohol content. As far as the hop profile- yeah it’s got the citrus nose but pretty one-dimensional. Finishes quite dry for a beer of this magnitude. I was expecting more after sampling the hopopolis.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
On tap in Irvine. Slightly hazy, deep caramelly amber body with some soft ruby notes and a thin layer of off-white head. Sweet, honeyed malt aromas with a hint of green raisin fruitiness. Lots of caramel sweetness underneath a big c-hop presence that comes alive with a swirl of the glass. Medium-heavy bodied, somewhat sparkling mouthfeel. A bit syrupy and weighing on the palate for the style, but not overly cloying. Some caramel sugars start off the flavors, along with a hint of chewy vanilla toffee. A moderately bitter, pithy white grapefruit finish follows closely behind. The flavors are pleasant, but I’d like to see the malt and hop characters combine a bit more harmoniously, rather than come at me as seemingly separate phases of the tasting experience. Somewhat similar to the Hopopolis IPA, but the perceived bitterness is higher on the former. Some stinging alcohols left in the final smack, but not overly hot.
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