ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA

10/23/2007: ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA India Pale Ale has a deep honey orange color with a thick, lasting ivory head. The aroma exudes grapefruit and pine hops along with a heavy sweet, sugary caramel malt. The flavor imitates the aroma along with a high dose of bitterness. This beer has a medium-full body that is extremely smooth and just a slight bit creamy on the palate. The alcohol is nicely tucked away beneath the ample maltiness and bitterness of the flavor. The sticky floral pine bitterness seems to grow and grow with each taste. After awhile it almost become overwhelming, but luckily there is enough sweetness provided by the large toffee/caramel malt base. The alcohol gets a little more pronounced as the beer warms which also seems to exacerbate the intensity of the bitterness. To sum it all up, this Double IPA is still going strong and really does drink like a hop bomb. The important thing though is that there are enough other flavors and some sweetness to help diffuse the intense bitter qualities nearly to the point that this beer is actually fairly enjoyable.

22 fl. oz/ bottle (9.1% Alc. Vol.) from adrian910ss (Nov 2006). Thank you very much! Rating #195 for this beer...

22oz bomber. Not to impressed with this double IPA felt there was too much malt charecter and lacked in the hop department not only in aroma but in taste as well. Dissappointed.

Bomber. Poured translucent medium orange with a tall, well-retained cap of beige head and sticky lacing. The aroma picked up hefty doses of pine and grapefruit hoppage along with some dried grasses.. very sweet caramel and alcohol notes beneath. The flavor had a drier sweet caramel and candy surrounded by dried pine needle, grapefruit, and signature Amarillo bitterness. Rather rough transitions on the palate with a grainy feel.. medium-bodied.. very sweet, bitter, and boozy finish. Solid overall.

Name: Sleighor
Date: 11/30/2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Nija’s

clear amber, thin white head, big sweet piney grapefruit aroma, lots of hop flavor on a hidden dry malt base, long bitter finish,
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Name: Sleighor
Date: 02/11/2006
Score: ii to iii
Words: Bottle
Words: Roadtrip

clear dark amber, frothy cream head that lives forever, drippy lace, sweet pine and citrus aroma, big sweet pine flavor with a long tongue scraping bitter finish, alternates between the bitter and the sweet

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Clear copper body with a mediium rocky golden tan head. Aroma of pine and floral hops. Sweet floral hops flavor with a very dry bitter finish.

Pours a slightly hazy red/orange with a small white head. A little floral hop aroma, but not a hop bomb in the aroma. Definitely get some grapefruit citrus in there too. Alot of grapefruit in the taste, but not as in your face as much as you’d think from this style. Stil the hops make theri presence known, but their is a profound fruity flavor to it. Really well balanced and easy to drink for this 9% brew. Just a slight bitterness in the aftertaste, but nothing too bad. Solid brew.

From a 22 oz. bomber bottle with no freshness date, sampled at cellar temperature in a tulip glass. Poured a cloudy orangey tarnished copper with a frothy, tight pale beige head, good retention, settled into a thin sudsy, creamy lacing, minimal amount of laced sticking. Not the strong, California DIPA nose I was expecting, floral hops dominate, light pine resiny and citric fruitiness, some citrus rind as well, with a sweet pale malty, graininess at the edges. Good steady carbonation and a crisp, dry, hop slick, velvety smooth medium bodied mouthfeel. Hoppy taste upfront, herb oily, dry pine needles, lemon zest and orange rind, a little resiny, toasted grains, a touch of caramel, some pale malty sweetness, a soft butteriness, the alcohol is a spicy and a bit solvent, low grade warmth in the palate, and a dry grainy, hop oily, citric rind finish. A good California DIPA, a sipper you need to be careful with, I hope this isn’t the end of Reaper ales.

22oz. bomber. A great appearance! Deep copper hue with a fantastic fluffy tan head. Based on this appearance, I expected a bit more out of this brew. Moderate aroma of syrupy malt, bitterness from the Cascade hops, and a slight smoked touch. Flavor was enjoyable, very resinous with roasted malt flavor that finishes with a hefty hops punch. Not much lingering on the palate afterwards. This is a good DIPA, but not exceptional. Could have been a tad more hoppy with a crisper finish, but worth a try.