 merlin48 (328), Henderson, Kentucky, USA
Apr 28, 2008
12 oz bottle, green wax coated, pours a mostly clear copper body with a sturdy beige head. Lots of chain lacing. Aroma is quite bold. Pink grapefruit, orange, caramel, toffee, alcohol, and some earthiness here. Smooth medium body is slightly syrupy. Taste is citrusy bitter hops. Grapefruit rind and Valencia orange join with a solid caramel and toffee malt backbone. Warming alcohol is not intrusive. Very engaging effort that borders into barleywine territory.
jcr (811), Jasper, Indiana, USA
Jul 22, 2008 Bottle. Small, off-white head that disappears quickly. Aroma is moderately hoppy with hints of grapefruit, orange and resin and moderately malty with notes of caramel leading one to think that the hops will carry through well into the flavor, but they don’t. In addition, there is a strong hint of alcohol in the nose which does follow into the flavor. The flavor is heavily sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. It is also peppery with alcohol. The finish is moderately bitter and alcoholic. Full body, syrupy texture and moderate carbonation. As much as I Iike Dark Horse products and as much as I like double IPAs, this is a big disappointment. The alcohol and thick, almost sickly sweet malts are just too overwhelming; they don’t let the hops present much character in the flavor. An off-balance, unenjoyable double IPA.
drfabulous (658), Columbia, Missouri, USA
Jul 18, 2008 From a bottle at Wine Sellers in Macomb. Did I have this in Michigan? I can’t remember. Everything a Double IPA should be. Malty and intense. Fantastic.
flatmatt (46), Northville, Michigan, USA
Jul 17, 2008 12 oz bottle. Pours red amber with a small to medium off-white head. Aroma is citrus hops, then a little bit more malty and caramel aromas and a little alcohol. Like the single Crooked Tree, the flavor is less dominated by hops than I expected. Grapefruit and spicy flavors are definitely there along with substantial bitterness, but there’s also a strong caramel flavor in there, along with some noticeable pale malt flavor. Flavor is quite reminiscent of a hoppy barleywine as opposed to a double IPA (and I see I’m not alone in thinking so). Hides its high ABV well, just a little bit can be noticed in the finish. Some lacing. Pretty enjoyable beer.
RCL (973), Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Jul 11, 2008 Super piney and yellow fruit hops in the aroma. The flavor is much less bitter than I thought it would be. Great balance.
dchmela (617), Orlando, Florida, USA
Jul 11, 2008 12 oz bottle courtesy Polomagnifico. Pours cloudy copper with a thin head and a lot of sediment. Big malt, caramel, aroma and citrusy hops. Big malty caramel, toffee body with hints of bitter citrus hops. Has a slight bitter hop finish. Not sure of the age, but the hops are mellow. Has an almost barley wine feel to it, very tasty.
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