ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA

Brewed by Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Davis, California USA

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,
-------- /> 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.

Garlic, grapefruit and hop astringent nose. Again mildly vegetative and astringent palate with more emphasis on up front bitterness than floral and resinous backend.

22oz from Once Upon a Vine, Richmond. An impressive ruby body with a modest head, this one’s got an aggressive hop aroma that certainly suits the name. I’d say it’s halfway between an imperial red (a la Alesmith) and a IIPA with attitude. Certainly has a bitter start, with lots of pine in the nose. But just as you begin to appreciate the caramel in the middle, there’s a really odd note that grows in dominance. It took me a while to place it - at first I thought it resembled the smell of potent weed, but then I settled on rosemary. Whatever it is, it’s very odd. Maybe this bottle’s too old or maybe it’s just quite a quirky version of the style. Not bad, but certainly can’t give it top marks.

A tight, creamy, white head rests atop a deep amber-red body with good clarity. Appealing, if not a little darker than I’ve come to expect from DIPAs. First impression is of caramel and apricots, with the hops taking the forefront. Orange and pine aromas follow with a touch of whole wheat bread and whipped cream. Comes across similar to Arrogant Bastard with more hop-focus and perhaps a little less intensity over all due to the lack of acidic-fruity esters by way of a remarkably clean yeast. Starts off somewhat tame, caramel sweetness and piney bitterness balanced, acidity levels very low. The sweetness then moves to the background, taking on more of a pure sugar taste, while pine and orange hops kick it up a few levels in the finish. The acidity comes up a little, but remains remarkably tame. The body has moderate weight, decent attenuation for 9.1% abv though I wouldn’t have complained about more, but the texture feels loose, doubly so with the intense carbonation. I wasn’t sent head over heels by this one, but it was a good example of damn hoppy beer with ample malt backing and a very restrained yeast. 22 oz bottle, snifter.