HeBrew Bittersweet Lennys R.I.P.A

bomber from grape and gourmet. pours a nice, dark copper color with a thick, light beige head and solid lacing. aroma is slightly sweet, with rye malts, caramel, figs, dates, and some grassy hops on the back end. not hop forward and citrusy like most DIPAs. Flavor is malt dominant and slightly sweet at the outset. Flavors of toasted marble rye, some toffee, caramel, and a touch of roasted nuts and vanilla are backed by some slightly piney hops with just a touch of citrus. aftertaste is very similar to thick apple cider. mouthfeel is slightly syrupy, mostly due to sweetness of the brew. nicely carbonated with a solid alcohol presence on the swallow. honestly, way too malt forward to be a DIPA, but not a bad beer at all.

Doughy, oily-modeling-clay and caramel aroma. Bad label. Stiff bitterness, between the rye and the hops and the alcohol - the beer is actually pretty sweet, but the bitterness dominates. Grass and chalked brown ale notes. Slightly heavy-bodied, tart initial finish follwed by a longer toasted grain and bitter aftertaste. I’m getting Double/Imperial fatigued.

A- Pours a dark amber/orange hue, head is a three-finger mass of foamy off-white goodness with excellent retention, creamy lacing sticks all over the glass, quite impressive! S- Nose is dominated by sweet rye malts and alcohol, plenty of hops in the background, tones of caramel, molasses, grass, and dark fruits T- Initial taste is of rye malts and spices which pave the way for a variety of bitter pine hops, also present are herb/spice, floral, and candy tones, an interesting tinge of vanilla pops up well into the aftertaste M- Medium bodied DIPA, watery to oily texture, amped carbonation D- This is one hefty DIPA and the alcohol is front and center at 10%, I probably wouldn’t go for more than one of this in a sitting, the rye is a distinctive element (also seen in Bear Rep’s Hop Rod Rye) that somehow overshadows all those hops which is strange (not usually seen in west coast DIPAs), overall a high quality ale that is just different -not in a bad way- style of DIPA

22oz bomber. Pours orange-amber brown with a slight haze and a thick off-white yellowish head that doesn’t last too long but does leave the occasional swath and streak of lace on the glass. The aroma is rich with malts - bready, tangy, and chocolatey - and also well-balanced by a sticky hop aroma - light citrus and lots of earthiness. There is a kick of alcohol in the nose, too. The flavor starts sweet with malts - toast, caramel, honey, and a hint of molasses - and bittersweet with resiny hops - spicy with notes of citrus and hints of evergreen. In the front of the mouth is also where there is the most evidence of rye - a nice spicy malt sweetness that pairs quite nicely with the hop flavors. At mid-palate is wave of chocolate and toffee malts as well as a firm spicy hop bitterness, some more citrus. and some fruity esters that complement everything quite well. The finish is full and sweet and is slightly dry from the alcohol (warming as it goes down) and the big, balancing hop bitterness. The aftertaste is warming and a nice balance of rich malt character and American hops. The mouthfeel is rich, full, and creamy, with a light tingle from carbonation and a pleasing sudsiness that complements the full body. Overall, this is a really great beer, but I wouldn’t call it a double IPA. Perhaps American Strong Ale is a better appellation - maybe even American Barleywine.

22oz bottle. Dark orange/brown pour. Slight hop aroma, the rye malt is right up front though. Good hop flavor with a lingering bitterness in the end, smooth rye flavor in there as well. Pretty tasty, but a little too sweet for me.

Reviewed 1/13/2009 (bottle): Pours an amber orange colored body, with a small white head. Has a strong citrusy bitter aroma. Also, a rye grainy aroma. An alcoholy taste, bitter citrus, grainy. Spicy taste. Has a creamy mouthfeel. Nice IPA taste. Carbonated. Tasty.

Wow, very malty aroma, almost to the point where I am not so sure that this is an imperial/double. I am trying to smell the hops, but no luck with this one. Too malty of an aroma if you ask me, for an imperial/double that is. Nice haze appearance. Not completely transparent, it leans towards translucent. Nice looker though. Has a nice tight head sitting on top. Couple of floating particles, but hell I don’t give. Very matly beer. There aren’t enough hops in this. I am having a hard time cutting through the damn malts. I mean I enjoy malts, but when we are talking about an imperial/double IPA I want to be friggin twitching because of the hops. That is not happening. Overall, a decent beer with an okay palate, but the malts are overdone. I think this brewing company has a hard time chilling out on the malts, and using the hops.

Pours clear amber with thick creamy tan head. Aroma has plenty of rye, malts with notes of caramel. Taste, thick rye mouthfeel, heavy dose of hops with underlying fruits (grapefruit, subtle citrus), all balanced out with good malty notes. Overall leaves a thick creamy taste. After taste has some warming notes of possible dark fruits coupled with a good 10% kick.