ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA

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.

Sharp initial grapefruit slaps the schnaz, hop tartness and thats it,malt stuggles to get itself noticed, that malt however does come through in the taste, the taste is much more balanced, the grapefruit becomes citurs pine mixed with a creamy smooth caramel,the aftertaste is a nice fade of that toffee caramel malt and a mixed hop bitter finish. I prefer the hop dominators,but as far as a balanced Imp IPA,this ranks right up there with the best

22 oz bottle. Deep red-orange beer, thin white head. The aroma is lovely, sweet pine, a bit of herbal character, some light fruity hops over a lean pale malt base. The flavour is lightly hoppy, pine and soft floral/flowery hops. Earthy lingering bitterness. A nice, lean DIPA.

Bottled. Puzzlingly (is that a word?) thin mouthfeel that transitions into a really, really jack hammering bitter finish. That sounds really good, I know - but this just doesn’t work very well here. This sucks the hydration right out of me.

Gift from MrBendo. Amber colored nice foamy tan head. Amazing pine aroma. Heavy hitting hop flavors of citrus and plenty of delicious malt creamy to make my mouth water for more. Finish is a heavy hard hop happiness!!! Loved it.

Aroma is malt. Just kidding, but there is some malt nose. It’s grapefruity hop and a bit of resin. Ripe stone fruit color, pretty translucent, likely unfiltered. Not much head, but it laces in thin little lines. Starts with hop, quickly becoming grapefruity, but there’s enough malt to make a strong impact. However, no doubt about the finish; bitter all the way. Maybe some malt sticks through the finish, but it’s questionable.