Foothills Seeing Double IPA

Brewed by Foothills Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA

Growler courtesy of Degarth. Awesome, thanks Joe!

Pour is cloudy as hell, almost looks like a Hefe...body is amber/rusty in color, very nice looking...incredible lacing...head is about 2 fingers thick, tightly packed full of bubbles...average retention...damn, this lacing is nice...nose of caramel, floral hops, some soapiness...aroma is muted, which is disappointing...maybe I was just expecting a more in your face citrus hop bomb, this one is more floral and subtle...doesn’t smell like many Double IPA’s out there right now...flavor is very similar, a lot of caramel/toffee malts...better sense of the hops here, big floral/perfume kick...no pine or bitterness expected from other types of hops...full bodied, very round and filling...oily, slick mouthfeel...finish is very long, floral hops, then a seemingly endless supply of caramel/toffee malts.

From a growler. Copper in color with a thin wispy head. Aroma of candy sugars and spruce trees. More of a balanced DIPA. Sweet caramel malts and some piney and citrus hops. Slick syrupy feeling. Very drinkable. Another fine beer from Foothills.

Pours a nice copper color with a white head. Aroma is caramel and nice grapefruit hops. Flavor is malty, caramel, and nice bitter citrus grapefruit finish.

From Growler, via Jimbowood. Shared with Bartzilla & Morgan. This growler held up really nice. Good carbonation, and the beer tasted really fresh. I think this is the first Growler I have ever received in a trade. Although there is nothing extraordinary about this beer, it’s a nice example of the style. Not overdone, almost sessionable. Alcohol is really well hidden.

Atlanta Cask Ale tasting, 2008. Pours a hazy light amber. Aroma of fresh hop. Simcoe is very present. Taste is also very hoppy and smooth, with plenty of citrus and some pine. A very nice IIPA. Cask may have smoothed this one out. Big hoppy finish.

On tap at Armadillo Grill in Wake Forest. Hazy orange pour with a 1-finger white head. Floral and citrusy hop aroma, just a hint of grainy malt as well. Intense hop flavor: citrus, some peach (maybe? I’ve never detected a peach flavor in an ipa before but that’s what I was getting), lots of malt to sort of balance this out, but it’s still a bruiser. Some booze detected as it warmed. Sticky, resinous hops coat your palate as you swallow, leaving citrusy hop goodness lingering long after you’ve swallowed. Top notch IIPA!

tap @ bp. served 2 cold. no discernable hop nose. mild hop flavor. too subdued on the hops. all I taste is sweet malt and alcohol. too cold possibly.

My Bottom Line:
A dazzling orangey, resinous hop bouquet proliferates into the cushiony caramel maltiness of this nourishing, quintessential Double IPA. Balance and high drinkability are also reached, taking this beer to greater heights in the style’s pantheon, imho.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A blanket of foam protects the cloudy amber shine.
-The finishing citrusy and resinous hop bitterness is as important as the hops found in the flavor profile and aroma; everything’s so elegantly laid out!
-The body is chewy and the carbonation relaxing, creating an excellent, full but lenient mouthfeel.
-Hops also divulge a spruce-like sweetness in their flirting earthiness.
-Oh man, how I need to get to this brewery.

On tap at The Flying Saucer in Charlotte.