Phillips Amnesiac Double IPA

Brewed by Phillips Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Victoria, Canada

Bottle: Poured a deep dirty amber and hazy ale with a nice foamy head with some great retention and some good lacing. Aroma of bitter hops is dominating with some subtle notes of resin hops. Taste is also dominated by some bitter hops with some light resin notes. Malt presence is a bit weak for the style and some citrus notes would have been appreciated. Interesting and probably one the first bottled IIPA coming from Canada but slightly below average for the style.

One of BC’s best beer offerings. Packed with hops but balanced too. Alcohol is pretty much undetectable. Well-made beer.

Date: May 20, 2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Noog II
Appearance: hazy amber, whispy off white head
Aroma: sweet pine aroma with a nice citrus grapefruit character
Flavor: big sweet carmel malt flavor with tons of grassy citrus hops
Overall: a wonderful iipa that stands out from the crowd

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Date: September 24, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: City Center Liquor, Surry, BC
Appearance: clear dark amber, frothy beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet and spicy aroma, dark caramel sweetness, spicy hops, lots of earthyness
Body: big body
Flavor: sweet dark caramel flavor, lots of spicy and earthy hops, nice flaral character, peppery alcohol melds with the spicyness of the hops, breadyness add depth, long bitter finish
Overall: quite a bit different from what I had a couple of years ago, drinks more like a double red

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Pours out cloudy orange brown. Fairly good off white head. Aroma is earthy malt and hops. Taste- follows the aroma. Not a big west coast style DIPA, moreso almost british like. Malt is solid- tobacco and dusty, but no big hop bite. Booze is well hidden and drinkability is decent. Not too many canadian dipa’s out there , so I tip my hat.

650ml bomber Poured a hazey honey colored ale in the glass with a decent 2 finger sticky cap... good retention and great lacing qualities. Aroma: half way to a Pacific NW IPA; some citrus from cascades but also some musty grassy cedar tones from fuggles, and other Brit varieties...all with a big caramel-toffee malt undertone. Profile: Big chew on juicy citrus rind hops and toffee malts in the front side....mid palate some woody-earth notes, cedar, walnut skins, toast...finish throws the balance off to slightly favor the hops but it is subtle enough and the malts are thick enough it is not a problem. Covers the alcohol completely...a big malty-hoppy IPA..very flavourful, satisfying and drinkable..well done!

Bottle from the BC store in Coquitlam: Hazy rich amber color with a generous off-white head. Aroma of citrus hops. Flavor starts rich and malty followed by a good balance of citrus and finishes lightly dry with a light grapefruit rind bitterness. Full bodied and tangy with moderate carbonation. This is some good stuff!

Very hoppy. Smells like hops. Tastes like hops, but there is no bitter aftertaste to distract. Finishes nicely. Watch out it is a big bottle and 8.5%, best to share.

Rated from memory...nice deep amber colour, fair head, great hoppy-malty aroma and beautiful balance with a bias to hop bitterness. Gorgeous.