Stoudts Double IPA

12oz bottle. Pours cloudy amber in color with full foamy white head. Aroma malty and citrus hops. Taste of hops and lite malt with bitter after taste.

On tap at the Vintage Estates, one of my favorite beer tasting arenas, thanks Nuts. Ubiquitous pale yellow american lager color and appearance. Yellowish white creamy head. Floral citrus aroma but not quite pine needles. Bitter oppressive chewing on grapefruit rind taste. Mouth coating bitter oppressive palate. Barely any carbonation. What can I say, one of my least fave styles. Bitter lingering medicinal finish that hangs for what seems forever.

Bottle sample shared with oakbluff. Pale amber in colour with moderate carbonation. Very poor aromas of candied oranges, metal, and... well... garbage. I think oakbluff’s verbal description of: "refigerated manderin oranges that were bought in early December, left in the fridge, and forgotten about until the end of January" is pretty much spot on. Flavor wise, things are a bit better: with some caramel and sweet orange elements coming though loud and clear. But where are the hops? There wasn’t a whole lot of bitterness or wood or spice or anything that would have added balance. The lack of bitterness made the palate pretty damn watery too. We must have had an off bottle.

Light gold color with medium white head and nice lacing. Big hoppy aroma and flavor. It was very sweet, almost tasted sugary. Very nice, and not a bit of the alcohol was evident.

I originally picked this up during a visit to the DC area, and being largely an outsider to East Coast crafts was surprised by both the number of ratings this beer has (having never seen it before), and its high rating. I found it overly malty and a bit disappointing. I bought this beer at Norm’s Beer & Wine in Vienna, VA. It was bottled (dated) 23 June 2007. I had it rated as a 2.2. But then I re-tried it a few months later on draft at the Brew Kettle in Strongsville, OH, and was genuinely impressed rescuing my impression of this beer, although I did feel it to be a bit light for an DIPA. It was a nice hazy golden color and highly hoppy in its aroma. Flavor did not reflect its alcohol content, and was rather hoppy and offered up some malty cripsness. Quite nice. I’m reviewing my review.

This beer pours a clear orange color with nice head retention. It has a nice bitter sweet smell of cherrys and mild hops and minor earth tones. The taste is very sweet on the palate almost like a barley wine. It has hints of mild hops and strong fruits like cherry and rasberry. The after taste is of mild roasted flavors yet still fruity.

Pours an amber colour with a small white foamy head. Aroma of black cherry, plum, toast, and slight hint of citrus. Initial taste is sweet malts, caramel, more like a barley wine. Finishing sweet with linger bitter hops. Sticky mouthfeel. Good head retention.

A mild orange pour with a bit of cloudiness. Capped with a skim milk foam. Nose is bright and sweet. Mandarin oranges, graham crackers, dry autumn leaves. Licks of frosting. Fireworks of blackberry and currant fruitiness lend a brilliant, dark sweetness to distinguish the taste from more average examples. Lively citrus tastes complement. Alcohol is mild if not mostly hidden. Burnt toffee and predictable caramel malt stickiness finishes. This is lengthy, with an appropriately moderate thickness. It isn’t too much, resulting in something surprisingly easy to enjoy. Thanks Lou!