Bootleggers Knuckle Sandwich

Brewed by Bootleggers Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Fullerton, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Tasted at the 13th Annual Strong Ale Fest on 12/5/2009. I am assuming the Knuckle Buster and Knuckle Sandwich are the same beer. This Imperial IPA pours a med orange gold color from the tap. Small to medium sized white foamy head with nice lacing. The aroma is fruity and sweet with some floral hops. A medium bodied Imperial IPA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are citrusy and floral. A medium bitterness IPA. Lots of orange and orange peel, but not a lot of malt. Decent carbonation. The mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

66cl Bottle at AHBS. Hazy orange amber colour, off white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, very hoppy with pine, citrus, dung. Flavour is sweet, malty, grapefruit, dung, light earthy, citrus and pine bitter finish. Medium to fullbodied. Good.

On draft at Bootlegger’s. Wonderful floral aroma, creamy white head. Taste is citrus, grapefruit, pine, a little sugary, super smooth with a little bitterness. One of the best!

22oz Bottle. Thanks for sharing, Emeline. Full disclosure. I had this beer after having two of the best hoppy beers of my life from Hill Farmstead. Compared to those, this was complacent, malty, clean, and more Barleywine-like. Yes, there were hops. I forgot them. Yes, there was malt. It was fine. I realize that rating this or comparing this is akin to comparing coffee to tea, but I can’t help it. This review just underscores the incredible nature of Hill Farmstead’s hop work (sorry, Bootleggers).

UPDATED: APR 7, 2012 Bottle in Californee. Poured a copper color with creamy medium head. Decent lacing. Aromas of strong pine, mango, kiwi, lemons, and rye. Taste was a hop explosion of citrus notes and tang. Other smaller notes of caramel sundae, and resin. Very sticky and awesome IPA.

Nice flowery citrus smell that pours deep copper with a creamy head. Balanced hop and alcohol through the entire palate moving to a lingering finish that just hangs there. Worth the hype to pick it up.

On Tap. A nice sweet malty IPA with citrus, mango and some pine flavors. Not much bitterness here, just strong citrus and floral hops.

Bomber. Poured clear, medium coppery-amber with a nice cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up dank pine resin and citrus hoppage over meatier fruit and sweet caramel.. warm and spicy in the nostrils. The flavor found toasty caramel and darker fruit on the sweet core.. pine resin and black peppery bitterness around.. juicy hops and spicy warmth on the long finish.. tasty stuff! Heavier-bodied and fairly juicy on the palate.. this was good, but would probably be better if uber-fresh. I’d gladly drink it again.

From notes. First reviewed 9/14/2011. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Thanks to PeprSprYoFace for sending me this. The appearance of this beer is phenomenal. A full cherry copper color with a rich, creamy white head. Sheets of lace have great cling. The aroma is very sweet, and this sweetness begins the downfall of Knuckle Sandwich. Lots of full caramel notes balance or even overpower grapefruit and sticky pine aromas. Up front, the malt presence is full and bready. A soft honey sweetness grows until it is a nearly out of control caramel bomb. Where are the hops? When the grapefruit, apricot, and pine bitterness finally come in, it is too little too late. The sweet malt controls the flavor the whole time. A light alcohol presence is noticeable at the end, but nothing out of the ordinary for a 10% DIPA. Knuckle Sandwich has a fuller body than I would really prefer and almost chewy from the strong malt presence. The tight carbonation works well with the full body, providing a light creaminess and still guiding excess flavors off the tongue with each sip. A bit of alcohol burn in the back of the throat. When I first started drinking IPA’s, I liked beers that had a nice malt sweetness to go along with a strong hop presence. Now, just give me the hops. I can see why this is popular, it is just is not quite what I am looking for.

Love this DIPA! The aroma is full of fruity, citrusy hops. Appearance is very clear dark amber. The taste is very similar to the aroma but with a smooth finish. Very nice mouthfeel, not too heavy. Overall, Would love to have this everyday!

22 oz. bottle shared by brew3crew. Pours a hazy amber/copper color with a medium sized beige head. The aroma has a nice power play between the sweet malts and the citrus, resiny and dank hops. The flavor is much like the nose; sticky resiny citrus combined with sweet caramel malts. I think this is pretty much what a DIPA should be. Medium to medium plus body. This is worth trying again, so maybe I will look for another bottle. I enjoyed the label as well.