2 AROMA 2/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 8/20A quite vigorous pour barely gets over a finger thick head to form, it is a light tan color. The beer is a hazed, amber color that shows a hazy, orangish copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma has a pine and grapefruit hop aroma to it up front the moves to a mix of soap and stale body odor in the finish. Honestly the aroma just sucks and really doesn’t leave me with any desire to explore it any more.
The beer has a malts sweetness to it up front that is tempered by a pine and herbal hop flavor. As the beer flows across the tongue it begins to pick up a stronger and stronger soap flavor, until that is what ends up lingering on in the finish for much too long. There is a fair amount of bitterness here, but honestly it could actually use more of a biting bitterness to balance the sweet, caramelized malt character. It has a bit more body than I personally like in a Double IPA, but is perfectly within the style range.
This beer was actually somewhat fun, the aroma is particularly offensive, though the flavor is just a touch better. It is quite hoppy, so they at least got that part right (I have had some Double IPAs that were severely under-hopped), but the off flavors are just really striking. Makes me wonder what they did to get these particular flavors and aromatics; I almost wonder if it is some horrible combination of hops.
3.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
22oz Bottle. Raw green coconut juice, blended with canned pineapple, and a hint of musky grape vine. Green. Flavors are...interesting and less successful. And odd pairing of aged barleywine and old, dried pine cones. It’s reminding me of Bigfoot that sat too long and the pine needles decaying under the white pines behind the house where I grew up. It has this very old sensation, not that the beer isn’t fresh, but that the elements have an age and a wisdom to them. That’s an odd thing to say about a beer or its ingredients I realize. The hop usage comes across as medicinal. As a Double IPA this is pretty coarse with an note entirely enjoyable hop flavor, but as a mystical tonic, it might just work.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20
(sample at the 2012 Boston Beer Summit Winter Jubilee) amber with large head. Floral hops.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Sample. A pretty good IPA. It had a nice progression of hop flavors as you sipped it and was not overly bitter or at least didn’t have that lingering bitter aftertaste that some IPAs have.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
A good straight hearty IPA, with a full rich bitter finish. Nothing NOT to like here.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle/22oz - Pours a clear yellow-orange in color with a medium foamy white head that settles to a thick covering over the beer and produces some minor lacing on the glass. Aroma is medium of grassy and pine hops with some fruity esters peeking through. Flavor is definitely hoppy and medium bitter, but for a beer called a "monster", it is a bit underwhelming from a hopping standpoint. Finish is lingering, quite bitter and nicely hoppy in flavor.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cloudy translucent orange with minimal white head. Aroma is spicy orange and floral hops. Flavor is sweet and very complex, with dried fruite, caramel and a bitter hop aftertaste. Medium bodied, slightly sticky. Very, very nice beer.
3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Draught. Cloudy copper pour with a medium head. Aroma of hops (no kidding) and pine. Taste is surprisingly smooth for a double, but lacks the usual bite I expect. Hops and faint malt dominate the taste with a slightly thin finish.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
A local hero of a beer. A orange color with some sediment floating made for an attractive appearance. A great mix of hop aromas fromt he citrus, to the pine and than an almost black pepper smell. This beer is mostly givieing a bitterness flavor mixed with a bit of the tangerine.
3.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Stong sweet and mellow hop aroma. flavor is strong and astringent with citrus and sugar. Lots of sweet caramel with a thick mouthfeel.
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