Phillips Amnesiac Double IPA

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

Thanks to SpringsLicker (via Oakes) for sharing this bottle with us at the Nashville Tasting! Poured a cloudy orange with a thin white head that leaves light lacing. Slightly sweet aroma of fruits and malts. The flavor had some IPA hoppiness mixed with some defined caramel malts. Medium body and dry texture. Slightly sweet up front but turns to the bitter IPA you look for.

Slightly clouded dark orange body with a small white head. Floral and orange perfume. Balance clearly towards the hops. Pine-tree and grapefruits in a dry caramelized body. Overall crisp sensation. A little cardboard brings down an otherwise excellent beer. On the whole quite good. A memorable Amnesiac, how ironic.

Bottle that Springslicker brought to the Nashville Tasting. I believe Oakes sent this to him. Pours a slightly hazy orange with a white head. Dominate malty aroma of toffee and wet crystal malt, with some faint hops in the background. Initial flavor of toffee that transitions to a piney and grapefruit bitterness that carries through to the finish. Dry and leafy lingering bitterness on the palate. Not bad for a canadian IIPA.

650ml bottle, shared with VeloVampire - pours a light amber/gold shade with a fairly big, white head on top. Aroma is a huge hop punch to the olefactory senses, earthy and resiny, with some citrus mixing about in there. Taste is, as expected, a hop blast, fairly floral in the mouth with a decent amount of bitterness in the finish. As the palette adjusts, the bitterness subdues somewhat and other, more subtle flavours are allowed to come forward, including some caramel and some definite grapefruit, making the beer more interesting than simple hop overkill. Alcohol is very well hidden. Maybe toning down the hops a little bit, or giving this brew a bit more malt backbone would put some of these more complex qualities in the foreground, rather than towards the end of the glass, but otherwise a very good double IPA, easily in class with Dogfish 90, etc.

650 ml bottle, shared with StompBrockmore - poured a clear gold with a rocky white head. Aroma of fresh citrusy hops and not much else. Taste much the same. I love hops, but this was a little thin after they faded. Slightly bitter finish. Great stuff, got better as the glass emptied. Had a few sips of Stomps Tree Hophead IPA before this, which, I think, keeps this rating slightly lower. I LOVED the Tree, but didn’t have enough to rate it accurately, as his was the last bottle they had. DAMN!

Bottle, Café Volo, August 2006 Amazing arome of citrus, and hops, beautiful! holy hell is this bitter, one of the most bitter beers i’ve ever had, but man, is it tasty! i love it! recommended for any hop head!

Bottle from BC Liquor Store, Vancouver. Copper colour with lots of grapefruit hop on aroma, moderate earthiness in mouth. Not bad malt and then earthy grapefruit on finish. Good bittterness. Fine. Not too extreme.

Friend brought a 650ml bottle from BC; trying this one with A Lot of anticipation. So, here we go... This one has an impressive pour and the middling head sits atop the amber-gold liquid. The aroma reminds me of lots of cascade hoppiness with some spectacular toffee and maple highlights. As others have noted, there is some caramel hints as well. Flavour is initially very sweet...reminds me of a fudge sundae; very creamy and sweet as the malt really comes through. The big hops barge through the door and take over, in a nice way. It’s a good combination. The 8.5ABV is well-hidden. Excellent product.