 mistersinalin (352), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Jul 3, 2009 I would have expected a little more aroma from this beer. I liked that boulevard is now in the IPA mix. You can never have too many.
TheEnemy (398), Chicago, USA
Jun 24, 2009 750ml botle
Pours a cloudy, rusty caramel color. Forms a nice poofy white head on pour; lots of lace on the sides of the glass. A layer of sediment gradually settles on the bottom of the glass. This is one fine-looking beer. Aroma: Rich and malty with some floral hop tones. Flavor: Excessively bitter; not much of the citrus-y character I prefer from over-the-top American IPAs. But there’s enough sweetness from the malt to make this beer pleasantly balanced overall. Palate is hefty and full; this stuff practically has the consistency of whipped olive oil. Glides effortlessly through the mouth on its way toward the satisfied drinker’s gullet.
As I’ve noted before, I’m pretty tired of the smash-mouth approach many American breweries take to the IPA style. But even that smash-mouth style has some room for finesse, and this version finds its stride within that narrow window of finesse. Hence its high marks from me.
randolphjj (59), Raymore, Missouri, USA
Jun 20, 2009 cloudy copper color with an off-white head. It looks like a double IPA should look. It invites you to show up and drink.
Nice citrussy flavor from the hops. Its little brother, Single-wide, is a great daily treat. This one is a great change of pace.
dkachur (1909), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Jun 19, 2009 C&C 750mL bottle from STLWill. Thanks! Batch B7292. Pours a hazy watermelon color with a large head. Good head retention and lacing. Very nice looking. I’d hit that. Oh, wait, I am! Aroma is both fresh and stale hops... citrus mainly with some leafy notes. Big toffee notes also. Taste is leafy, bitter hop notes with some citrus and lots of toffee and raisins. Very strong bitterness. Full bodied. Definitely feeling its age a bit, but still a very nice beer.
chicagodri (885), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Jun 15, 2009 My friend was nice enough to get me some bottles while I was in town for his bachelor party. Pours cloudy copper with an off white head. Some pine and citrus hops in the nose, but also a fair amount of caramel. The hops were well balanced and had a lot more malt in this beer than I was expecting. Good brew though.
CaptainCougar (5235), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Jun 15, 2009 Bottle sampled on 2/1/08: Pours a transparent copper orange with a large, well-lacing pillowy off-white head. Aroma of fresh grapefruity hops and sweet caramel malt with some piny floral character. Body starts fairly full and well carbonated with a nice malty sweetness and fresh citrusy hop balance. Finishes full and bittersweet with a touch of warmth. A pretty nice IIPA, thanks to csbosox for the bottle.
Chef Chad (78), Grand Junction, Colorado, USA
Jun 12, 2009 WOW!... This can and Rival all of the west coast IPA’s for sure. The best thing about this besides the flavor was it amazing on the tongue and the finish was very smooth. Nice copper cloudy color with a good white head. Good hops, pine and citrus nose. Flavor was not a a hop bomb by far.. Balanced a flavorful. Truly a great IIPA
Food Recommendations: Cast Iron Seared Flat Iron, Cilantro Rice, Garlic Asparagus Tips, Shallot and Thyme Demi
OldMrCrow (1127), Seattle, Washington, USA
Jun 7, 2009 750.
IPA? At 8.5% this is definitely pushing IIPA territory, but whatever. Big, big apricot nectar nose, a little bit of orange. Amber pour, nice big head. This is a heck of a good IIPA, sweet and plenty malt-forward and more in the (IIPA version of) two-hearted vein than what we’re used to out here on this coast. Lots of toasted / caramelized grapefruit in the flavor, definitely one of the sweeter IPAs I’ve ever had, and definitely very nice and yet it totally avoids that sticky-sweet IIPA trap.
Righteous beer!
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