Firestone Walker Double Jack IPA

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Paso Robles, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Tasted on tap at the 11th Bistro Double IPA Festival on 2/12/2011. This Imperial India Pale Ale pours a medium to light orange gold color from the tap. Medium sized white foamy head, with decent lacing and nice retention. The aroma is fruity and sweet, citrusy and floral. A medium to full bodied Imperial IPA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are citrusy and floral. Good carbonation. Extremely well balanced between the malts and hops, there is just a touch of bitterness at the finish. Hides the alcohol very well. A very mellow double IPA, which is somewhat of a misnomer, but does apply to this beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

perfect orange with about two fingers of creamy white head. Grapefruit, tangerine, maybe some peach and pine on the nose. Medium mouthfeel. Fruity notes from the hops are present, but the malt is shown nicely as well. No note at all of the 9.5%, this is a fantastic double IPA.

Just when I thought I was getting sick of IPA’s... Aroma is citrus and spice with a huge hit of hoppy pineapple and grapefruit Taste is much like the aroma with a sweet malt background. I won’t call it a backbone but it’s there. Palate is dry and thin, refreshing. Overall: Some of my IPA love returned to me with this bomber.

Clear pour, sticky head, golden color. Smells of pine and citrus hops. Grapefruit notes for flavor. Nice bite on the finish, disguises the alcohol. One of my favorites.

Bottled. Pours orange red with a clean head. Hops pine resin aroma. Similar taste with some grapefruit and malts. Pretty good

Appearance: A gorgeous deep amber and super, super clear. Just amazing. This color knows what it is and states it proudly. There’s a tall three finger head that takes it’s time dissipating. Quite a time too. Smell: Tangerine jumps to the front with orange and lime backing it up. Citrus dominates the aroma profile and it’s all the I can get to here. Mouthfeel: Syrupy but carried extremely well by the alcohol and carbonation. It’s refreshing but heavy. It’s light but strong. It’s delightful. Taste: Burning hops step to the top and like Hoptimum, you need a few sips before you can really start to judge the beer. There’s a distinct bready character that lies underneath helping disguise just how alcoholic this beer is. You really have to be careful with this brew. Lime and tangerine start to appear next and are helped along with a sweet, juicy fruit flavor. Almost like mango or passionfruit. There’s a very clean finish Overall: This only gets me more excited about the Sucaba barleywine sitting in the cellar. Firestone-Walker has impressed me on their first showing. I’ll definitely be back for more based on this and I suggest any hop fans head out and pick this up. Not for the hops (there’s hoppier stuff out there) but for the balance here. This is a really great Imperial IPA example and everyone should get a chance to enjoy it.

Picked up a 22 oz. bottle from my trip to Bert’s Better Beers today. Had to see what the hype was about. Smells mostly pine with a good bit of citrus lemon and grapefruit. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Oily, syrupy texture. Fruity, resiny hops in the flavor with plenty of malt to help balance it. Bitterness is there throughout the sip, yet it has a short pine abrupt finish. For 9.5% the alcohol is pretty well hidden. Well made.

Bottle. Pour is bright orange. Aroma is strong with hops and fruit. Very good smell. Taste is borderline amazing. It has bitterness, but not too much. A very good beer and has a lot of fruit. Some bitterness in the aftertaste, but not much at all. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pizzeria Paradiso, Alexandria tap ($8): Pours an orange with a white head. Aroma is grapefruit hops, and some more hops, and a well-balanced malt backbone. Taste is normal DIPA, but done exceptionally well. I don’t think that this beer breaks any boundaries, but it does successfully make a very well-crafted and, more so, well-balanced DIPA.

Medium head. Crystal clear with a golden hue. Citrus and hoppy nose. Medium carbonation. Slightly sweet with bold hop flavor. Long dry and bitter finish.

On draft. Incredible hop aroma of grapefruit, pineapple, peach and other citrus with a little pine. Tastes like it smells but it’s incredibly easy drinking at 9.5%. One of the best IIPA I know of.