 wetherel (977), Carlsbad, California, USA
May 3, 2008 Updated: May 4, 2008
OK. I don’t know what to say about this beer, besides it’s great! I got a 4ozish taster at the brewery on Friday (the day before it’s release on Saturday May 3rd). Now I really want a full pint. Incredibly drinkable even with the high 9.5% ABV. Pours with a medium white head and a yellow-amber liquid. Almost a bit lighter than other San Diego IPAs. Maybe even less caramelization or melanoidins. I’m not an expert. At first I smelled the fresh green west coast hops. Very nice. Possibly especially nice, because of the freshness. The aroma was wonderful, but wasn’t over the top hoppiness, but what can I expect from a taster. I’ll get a pigger glass tomorrow at the release. Surprizing low bitterness, or I should say harshness. Is the product of the new late-hopping wave? Again, I’m not a expert. Incredibly smooth. Medium body. A sweetness that reminds me of some great homebrews. I can’t think of a more perfect beer to get a grower or keg of. Delicious and super drinkable. I’m a bit worried. I love the beer, and I give it a high rating, but we’ll see what everyone else thinks. 8,8,9,5,19:4.4
Rerate at Lost Abbey 2nd anniversary. Many samples: 8,4,9,4,18:4.3
fakepurseninja (469), Sammamish, Washington, USA
Aug 21, 2008 Not sure what to think about this one. Appreciate the ABV, but the sweetness was way over the top and the sharp resiny pine hop component was not well balanced to the minimal, chewy molasses malt backbone. very yeasty with a good, fresh hop floral essence, but also very green and vegetablely. Citrus in spades. It was good but I think there is a lot of room for improvement in this one.
Beershine (1207), Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Aug 20, 2008 At Vero. Clear dark orange-amber. Chewy hop aroma. Rusty hops, burnt sweetness, and surprisingly roasty. Balanced and well-structured with a sturdy body.
zathrus13 (1058), Mount Laurel, New Jersey, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Orange pour, with a white head. Aroma is hops, caramel, and malt. Flavor is grepefruity hops, caramel, malt, and grass.
AllAboutStout (451), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Pours a dark amber in color with about an inch of head. A lot less head appearing compared to what I expected and seen in other DIPA’s. Smell is citrusy hops. Taste is slightly citrus, but the most noticeable trait is the bitterness. It really comes in on the back end and rips the tongue. Even for a few seconds after you swallow. There is quite the bitterness left over. This is a bruiser. I prefer the Hop15, but this beer was a statement.
xmarcnolanx (636), Kirkwood, Missouri, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Opens with a quiet shh! Crap, I don’t think that there is either a large amount of carbonation to this beer or there is something jacked up with the capping of my specific bottle.
Aroma is very hoppy. Orange, pine, sourness, caramel malts.
This is nice, but I can tell there is something wrong.
Taste is slightly sweet, very hoppy: orange, pine. Sweet caramel malts on the finish and alcohol.
Wow, not infected, but tastes like a hoppy BSA.
Very resinous, piney on the finish with alcohol accentuating the hops.
Solid, but not amazing.
Additional notes:
Very, very resinous and lingers like a motherfucker.
Harsh alcohol and hop combination that just sticks to the taste buds and destroys the palate.
I think the sweet malt, hops, and alcohol leads to a cotton candy flavor.
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