Mad River Steelhead Double IPA

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Blue Lake, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Pours with a lightly hazy, plum-amber color that sits underneath an initially two-finger thick, light tan colored froth, which even leaves some lacing on the sides of the glass as it falls back into the beer. Sharply hoppy in the nose, it seems to be an even mix of fruity and herbal hop notes. Aromas of grapefruit intermingle with pine, tangelo intersperses with fresh cut grass, lychee melds with a mint and apricot / peach mixes with a light herbaceous note. After a bit of time the fruit driven hop notes become the dominant note, which is just fine by me. Towards the finish, if you really dig for it, aromatic malt notes become noticeable; toasty soda cracker notes, a touch of biscuit malt and an aroma of freshly milled, pale crystal malt.

Fairly sweet tasting up front, but there are enough hops that this is not overly noticeable. Fruit notes of lychee, grapefruit and tangelo are accentuated by the malt sweetness. The fruit and malt sweetness linger on in the mouth for a bit, but then, long after the beer has past down my throat, a sharp, astringent, slightly grassy, definitely tannic bitterness jumps to the forefront. That is not to say that this beer is not bitter throughout, because it is; the bitterness is noticeable from the moment the beer hits ones tongue and it is joined by a light menthol / pine character. This has enough heft to it, enough of a mouthfeel, to easily carry the hop character here; actually a real hop head would probably say that this could still use quite a bit more hop character and even remain "balanced" for an double IPA given...

Despite that this is a purely hop focused beer, there is actually a substantial malt character here, lying just beneath the surface. Significant flavors of caramelized malt sugars, notes of toasty grain, a solid biscuit-like character, and a certain brown sugar encrusted bread flavor. This is certainly quite hoppy, but it seems to be missing that punch-drunk, wallop over the head that should be the defining characteristic of the best double IPAs. Still this is a thoroughly enjoyable beer for any hop lover and I definitely recommend it.

Hazy, amber/ruby colour and a small tan head. Good aroma with hops and some caramel. Taste packs a nice punch and it’s very hoppy. Mouthfeel is soft, has a good amount of carbonation. Very nice beer overall.

Pours a nice hazy golden color with a big fluffy white head and good lacing on the glass.

The aroma on this one just doesn’t really do it for me, I had three pints of fresh delicious IPA before this double IPA and all three of those just blew the nose on this one away. This beer is new to town so I’ll assume it’s as fresh as "can be", Alas it smells like grass and caramel malt, not particularly defined hop character is in the nose, at least no pleasant one is really "smell-able" The beer smells a little sweet.

The flavor is more like an american Barleywine, but not in a bad way. The caramel malt is well defined and is neither cloyingly sweet or clashing with the hop flavor. Everything is balanced here, the grassy and melony hops, the lightly sweet malt, the moderate bitterness. In fact I prefer my double IPAs to be just a shade less balanced than this. I want more hop flavor, I want the brewer to use hop flavors to bring balance to a double IPA rather than using sweet malt to do this. I do like the hop flavor here, it’s a tad slap-dash and one noted, but it’s also enjoyable.

The palate is nice, the beer sits big on your tongue without feeling syrupy, or overly heavy.

Deep golden, large off white head. Aroma of caramel, honeysuckle, citrusy hops. Full bodied. Moderately sweet up front. Very fruity, with peach and melon flavors before a big, sticky, bitter finish, with more fruity and woody hop flavors lingering. Very smooth on the palate and well balanced. The ABV is masterfully hidden. A great DIPA.

Bottle sample at an Imperial beer tasting at the Norma Jean in Jaffa, hosted by beerandbeyond. Hazy amber with a condensed white head. Hoppy, some citrus, jasmine flowers aroma. Bitter - bitterest in the tasting - green taste. Light body, bitter finish, lively carbonation.

Poured a murky amber with a one-finger white head. Great lacing. Smell is grapefruit, citrus, and grass. Taste is sweet citrus upfront, some grapefruit and caramel, with a big bitter finish. Mouthfeel is sticky with high carbonation. Solid DIPA.

Aroma of citrus hops and minerals. This doesn’t have the piney punch in the nose of many double indias. Dark orange with heavy suspension. Big bitter flavor, balanced malt profile and some stoney mineral elements. Very heavy on the palate, but smooth and approachable. Seems more like a regular IPA: good beer if not up to the scorched earth approach of the double style.

Hazy amber/orange color; Medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of citrus hops, floral, & caramel malt; Flavor of sweet malt, caramel/toffee, pine hops, and citrus (notably grapefruit); Finish is bitter; Nicely balanced; Pretty decent overall.

Draft. Citrus nose, grapefruit rind, some floral character. Flavor similar, sharp and tart grapefruit rind, clean light cracker malts. Alcohol is somewhat apparent, but the beer stays away from getting too sweet. Happy with this one. Golden, full head.

Bottle. Amber, frothy head, cloudy, lots of carbonation visually present. Pine hop aroma, bitter taste but not overwhelming, moderate finish for this type. All around very good.

Pours a murky gold with a quickly dissipating white head and solid lacing. Smell is weird, alcohol and citrus mostly, but some spice I can’t place. Taste is nice and bitter of hops. Good finish and nice IPA.