3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle back from NC on the last trip up there. Hops are a present but not overpowering, actually a decent balance here with the malt body working in the form of some caramel and sweetness. Touching a little on my hated band aid, fusel alcohol palate but not so much I’m dogging the beer. Aroma has a little bit of that hop presence but there is a pine aspect to it as well. Flavor is full bodied and coats your mouth well. There is a caramel flavor that fades into a resiny pine bitterness and you are finally left with a touch of orange and sweetness sort of like one of those orange rind candies. Pretty entertaining double here.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle. A bit darker bronze color than is typical for an IPA. Subtle grassy nose and a nice sized white head. The hops come through in the flavor more in the finish than up-front as they leave a spicy burn in the mouth. Hops lean towards pepper and grass. The body’s filled out nicely with some dark caramel sweetness. I like how this is called a Triple Pale Ale...it’s as strong as a double IPA, but not so aggressively hopped as has become come for the style. Another nice beer from this awesome brewery.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottled 03/10. Dark amber orange, thick lumpy beige head with thin looping lacing. Good solid backbone aroma, toffee, bready, caramel, apple, overlayed with pine hops, some almost fruity hops. Taste is caramel, apple, some spicy hops, pine straw, nice lingering bitter. Hints of alcohol but no heat. Nice.
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
On tap at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria in Asheville, NC. Dark copper colored pour with an impressive, dense off-white head. Tangerine, grapefruit, and sweet caramel malt aroma. One of the most perfectly balanced flavors of any DIPA I’ve run across; tangerine, a hint of roses, and caramel. Alcohol is very well hidden at first but is detectable at the end of the glass. Excellent overall.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Tap to tasting glass at Pisgah brewery. Pours hazy amber with appropriate ratio of white head. Holy hops!! Nose is citrus with a hint of yeast. Taste is sweet and full of PNW hops fading to biscuit/bready yeast. Finishes warm and bitter. Lovely ipa. Too bad i couldnt survive a session of this :p
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Appearance: Dark copper / amber with a massive 3 finger khaki crown that shows loads of retention and lace.
Smell: Caramel malt with lots of floral and herbal hop presence.
Taste: Same as nose. Fairly sweet caramel malt presence which isn’t my particular cup of tea. Good amount of bite and a tiny tinge of alcohol. Extremely well balanced even with this much age on it. Would have loved to try this one fresh.
Mouthfeel: Good carbonation and a medium body. A touch sticky but not quite chewy.
Drinkability: The abv holds this one back from a higher drinkability score.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 10-17-2009
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Big candied fruit and vegetables (weird, I know) aroma. Medium sweet with a bit of a phenolic or plastic-y edge to the hop flavor that isn’t really unpleasant.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20
Bottle… Hazy golden ale with a small, creamy, white head. Good retention. The aroma is straight-up toffee and biscuit with afterthoughts of spicy hops, pine and grapefruit. Full-bodied and creamy with tingly carbonation. Flavor-wise, there are touches of toffee and biscuit here, but masochistic bitterness is most definitely the star of the show. The tongue-scorchingly bitter finish dries out a bit at the very end.
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