ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA

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

Aroma of caramel, toffee, raisins, not to style but good. Appears cloudy, copper-brown. Flavor is overly bitter, unbalanced, tannic, soy sauce. Palate is too thin. Overall, I did not care for this brew, though I recognize that I am in the minority on this one.

Bottle from Foolish Mortal. Pours neon amber and very cloudy. It has a light tan creamy head that is thick and has staying power. It is bitter and tangy, (grapefruit?) and the malts are not detectable to taste. It has a pronounced flowery aftertaste. The lacing is of epic portions... clinically beautiful. The high alcohol is hardly detectable. But then in a beer this bitter, any other taste is moot. Sheighor DIPA is a lively beer with great mouthfeel, but it just isn’t balanced. A dose of rye would do this brew some good.

Bottle from LoweredSixth. Medium amber colored, fair off-white head. Aroma is more on the malty side of things and reminds me more of a barleywine than a IIPA. Balanced fairly well although more hop would have been nice. Decent to good.

Pours dark amber color with thin off white head that lasts. Strong, sweet piney aroma. Bitter and acidic up front. This is actually quite harsh, I know it is an IIPA, but this is not an easy drink. I like the taste, but too harsh and acidic for my liking.

Light copper pour with a decent head that sticks around through out. Piney citrus nose. Medium/light body with a smack you in the face hop presence. No attempt at balance here. Another over the top west coast hop monster.

Obtained via trade from BA nvsblman, this 22 oz brown bomber had the grim reaper on the label asking “Do You Dare”. Of course I do, that’s why I made the trade. Out of the bomber, and into the imperial pint glass, the beer came out clear deep amber bordering on brown and had a two finger craggy beige head. The aroma was a mix of earthy and citric hops with some nuttiness from the dark malt. The aroma did not scream out double IPA, but was quite restrained. The taste was like a super hopped English brown ale. The hops carried and initial citric tang followed by a peppery snap. The malt was chewy and dense, but not overly flavorful. The nuttiness typically found in browns was somewhat evident here, as was some grain husk character. The aftertaste was mostly flowery-grassy-herbal hops with a lingering sticky sweetness reminiscent of tropical fruits. The 9.1% ABV is barely noticeable. Different than many other DIPA style beers and delicious, I think of this as a stronger take along the lines of Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale.

Bottle. Nice piney-citrus aroma with a floral and slightly sweet aroma. Mildly hazy copper/amber color with a frothy nice, yellow-tan head. Nice lacing. Mildly floral and a bit astringent to start. There is a nice roastiness and maltiness in the middle. Finishes hot and boozy though. Quite harsh to finish. If this were smoother, it would be a beauty.

22 oz bottle. Beautifully clear copper color with some head and lacing. Surprisingly malty in aroma and taste for an Imperial IPA. And I would never guess it’s 9.1% abv. According to BJCP.org guidelines, an IIPA should be a "showcase for hops." I expected far more hops early in the boil (for bitterness), mid-way through (flavor), and late (aroma). I have to differ with the description that it’s a West Coast IPA. The variety of hops are definitely appropriate for a west coast ale, but there are just too few of them. There are far better examples. Still, this beer is good.