Karl Strauss Big Barrel Double IPA

Brewed by Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Tasty, well-made double IPA, but it lacks stand-out charisma. Rich, malty flavors of cocoa powder, bread and light toffee. Hops offer subdued tropical fruit flavors and a mild grassy bitterness. Big alcohol is hidden well. Overall, it’s decent, but it lacks personality and uniqueness.

Ultra fresh bomber. Pours a deep orange-amber color with a ever so slight haze. A thick, spongy head of cream colored froth is excellently retained, settling at a snail’s pace to a dense, foamy ring, and leaving rock hard, pronounced sheets of lacing on the glass. The nose booms with juicy hop notes, primarily focusing on grapefruit, mango, and honeydew melon. Malts are centered in slightly dried, moderately toasted toffee, hinting also at freshly baked white bread crust and some clean alcohol notes. Flavors are similarly structured, though not quite as well defined. Some of the tropical fruit notes drop out a bit, replaced by less exotic pine resin, while semi-sweet toffee and toasty bread keep things from getting overly bitter. The palate is big and moderately carbonated, but it refrains from getting overly sticky. There’s a little alcohol warmth, but it is kept well in check. It actually drinks pretty easily for a double IPA. Very solid stuff. Clearly in the California style, which is right up my alley.

On tap at the La Jolla brewpub
Appearance: Clear golden with a nice white head and good lacing
Aroma: Floral and grapefruit
Taste: Grapefruit and piney
Very nice IIPA

Nice fruity citrus hop nose, lots of pineapple, some peach, light honey. The taste is light to moderately sweet, lots of citrus, lots of cotton candy. Very nice.

On tap at Karl Strauss in Universal Studios LA. Pours a mostly clear, darker orange body with a two-finger width, fluffy, off-white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a moderate amount of lacing. Aroma of woody earth and heavy citrus. More muted than the IPA, but the flavor is better. Sweet, slightly resiny, deeper earthy hops with a dry, piney finish. Lingers with a moderate sweet citrus. Overall, a standard DIPA with some nice balancing caramels.

Draft: poured a copper color with off white head. Nice citrus hops aroma. Taste is hops forward but not over the top nIce malt balance. Finish is sweet.

UPDATED: DEC 6, 2009 Rerate; much better, can’t understate that. This time from a bottle. A good balance in this one, with a good hop profile. Citrus, fruit and earthy. On tap at Carlsbad location. Color was a ruddy amber with a compact creamy head. Aroma was weird; wood chips, caramel, must and BO. Flavor was also pretty weird; and actually it was pretty terrible initially. It did get better, but really weak for the style.

UPDATED: MAY 23, 2010 On tap @ Karl Strauss. Pours a mostly clear rust brown color with a fluffy beige head that left some great lacing. Tons of pine, citrus and resin on the nose. Big hoppy flavor with a good amount of sweet malt to add balance to the beer.
Earlier Rating: 5/26/2008 Total Score: 3.7
On tap @ Blue Foot Bar in North Park. Pours a medium amber with a ruby hue. Great lacing left on the glass. Nice grapefruit aroma and a nicely balanced finish. A pretty good one from the usually boring K.S.

22 oz bottle. Fuzzy peach brown with a white head. Nose is toffee, spiced apple cider, dough and mild pine. Juicy medium body, a touch syrupy and resiny, just enough carb to lighten. Taste is orange juice concetrate, grass, juniper and grapefruit peel. Too tilted toward the sweet side.

22oz bottle. Rating #55. Dark orange with an off-white head with really nice head retention. Aroma was citrus upfront with a little pine in the background. Thin body and light hops, more citrus and very easy to drink, not bad overall, just seemed to lack that little something. (1150)