Stoudts Double IPA

Deep copper with a cream colored head. Malty with a sweet pine resin note. Big and sweet on the palate with the weight of a Barley Wine. Slightly citrus and hoppy on the edges as it finishes with a note of clove and cardamom. Very big and hoppy (10% abv), but extremely well balanced for a style that often tends towards the extreme. The perfect marriage of malt, hops and alcohol.

Being that the hop-bomb American IPA is my all-time favorite beer to seek out and consume, this one certainly caught me off guard. However, although it is a "sweet malt-bomb", it was very enjoyable. Just a very malt laden rendition of the style. Pours a bright amber-orange color with a thin off-white head. No lacing noted. Predominantly sweet Sugar Daddy caramel aromas fill the nose on first sniff, followed by notes of ripe apple, pear, pine and citrus. Mouthfeel is big, full and chewy with a laid back carbonation. Insulin overload flavors of sweet caramel candy (like sucking on a Sugar Daddy-do they still make those?) and Grape-Nut cereal, with a touch of citrus, spice and pine resin cutting through in the finish. Not that the hops aren’t to be found, they just take a bit of a back seat on this one. The 10% alcohol does a nice job of holding it all together and cutting down any cloyishness. Gotta give ’em credit for shakin’ it up a bit and tryin’ somethin’ a bit new and different for an IPA.

I was looking forward to this one, but really wasn’t very impressed. Poured from the bottle to a bright orange color with thick off-white head that lingered throughout, and left excellent lacing. However, the very hoppy aroma was some citrus, but mostly sour dark fruit. Taste was very hoppy, but too heavy on the sour fruit. At mid-glass, the alcohol dominated the taste. Finish was dry and sour, and left me needing something else to drink just to remove the aftertaste. I’ll pass on this in the future.

Bottle from Premier Gourmet. Golden amber body with a big creamy beige head. Moderate resiny hop aroma, light caramel, alcohol, grassy hop notes. Fairly prominent alcohol comes out a lot as the glass warms, moderate bitterness and resin, sweet underlying caramel malt. Medium warming palate. Nice but lacks the gravitas and balance of some others. 7/4/7/3+/15

Just not very impressed by this one. Hops are too harsh and bitter, not enough floral hop feel. Alcohol is cleverly hidden, however. They could learn from Dogfish head’s dry-hopping.

Solid Imperial/Double. Sweeter than most and not as bitter of a finish. Citrusy. Suprisingly the alcohol doesn’t overwhelm even at 10 %. Different yet in this case still good.

Superb. Great hoppy aroma and body. Rocky head and dangerously bitter and easy to drink at 10% alcohol.

Bottle: Beautifully inviting cloudy and bubbly orange brew with a big head. Very tart, almost mandarin-orangey, citrus aroma. Likewise, a deeply fruity character ... puckeringly strong with not a problem of pronouncing it’s big alcohol content. Big beer for big boys. Excellent.