Filed under: Imperial/Double IPA (snifter, tulip), Lagunitas | Tags: Alcohol by volume, citrus, fruit, Home, hops, pine, pineapple, wine
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid DIPA
Style; glass: DIPA; Tulip
22 fl oz x 8% ABV = 176 / 60 = 2.93 beers * 150 C = 439.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Super Saver Pennington, NJ for $4.49
Aroma: hay, orange peel, pineapple, pine trees, salt.
Visuals: intriguing packaging, looks like top shelf whiskey, deep amber, brilliantly clear, off white head, intricate thin lace.
Taste: well balanced, light sweetness throughout, citrus rind tones continuously present, strength balanced with sensibility.
Palate: dry, towel, long bitter finish with sweetness lying underneath.
Overall: A very well balanced DIPA. A definite repeat. A sure favorite. At $5 a bomber, an amazing value.
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Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Sierra Nevada | Tags: active, Alcohol by volume, amazing, basil, beautiful, beer, Beer rating, blood, cardamom, cloudy, creamy, curry, deep, Drink, dry earth, drying, excellent, Food, fresh, grains, grapefruit, grass, India Pale Ale, orange, peanut oil, pine, Recreation, red, rye toast, sawdust, strong, white
pourn: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2008
Glass: Shaker, Tulip
Purchased at: Oaktree buy rite, South Plainfield, NJ
Price: $16.99 for two 6 packs.
Size: 12 fl oz
ABV: 6.8 %
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 170 C
RateBeer Rating: 96
Aural: quiet opening, active carbonation, nice pour
Aroma 8 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: sweet
Impression: nice
Malt Aroma: rye toast, peanut oil
Hops Aroma: dry earth, grass, basil, grapefruit
Other Aroma: pine
Notes: A great active aroma. Very mindful of a strong IPA.
Appearance 5 out of 5
Color: dark
Clarity: cloudy, bottle conditioned
Head Retention: average
Lace: intricate
Notes: Beautiful beer. Deep red orange hues with a white head and lace.
Flavor 9 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Impression: nice
Malt Flavor: grain bread toast nut
Hops Flavor: curry, cardamom, grapefruit
Other: orange, grapefruit, pine
Notes: Sawdust and blood. Like an accident happened, but in a good way. How do they make such a commercial beer so very good?
Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: creamy drying
Body: full
Carbonation: average
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Notes: Perhaps the best aspect of this very good beer. Leaves you wanting more.
General Impression: 18 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: An amazing beer for the brewer and price. Just fantastic.
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Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Sierra Nevada | Tags: amazing, beautiful, bitter, brilliant, citrus, clear, crisp, delicious, dry, golden, grapefruit, high quality, hoppy, hops, long finish, nice, orange, pine, resin, well balanced
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
First tasted on 2/21/2009
video added 3/25/2009
Style; glass: IPA; tulip
12 fl oz x 7.2% ABV = 86.4 / 60 = 1.44 beers * 150 C = 216 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $1.12
Aroma: hops, citrus, stinging, and pine needles. Invigorating.
Visuals: beautiful brand safe packaging, summer sunset, brilliant golden orange clarity, thinning white yellowish head, exquisite lace.
Taste: starts sweet and bitter simultaneously, middle is dark with some roasted notes and lots of citrus, which lingers as grapefruit, resin, and tar.
Palate: peppery, stinging, and tart, middles dull to a warming and a throb in the back of the mouth, the finish is dark, warming, and delicious.
Overall: This is a spectacular, delicious, and superlative achievement. At this price, intensity, and quality, I have found my go-to daily bread. Sierra Nevada, you’ve absolutely done it. You are so hired.
http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/torpedo.html
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Filed under: Belgian Ale (trappist, tulip, tumbler), Victory | Tags: amazing, beautiful, bitter, crisp, dark, deep, dry, hazy, long finish, mold, pine, resin, sour, strong
Victory Wild Devil
Style; glass: Belgian Ale, Trappist
22 fl oz x 6.7% ABV = 147.4 / 60 = 2.45 beers * 150 C = 367.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $9.99
It’s a deep bitter style that eludes traditional style descriptions – not quite an IPA, not quite a Belgian, but delicious, dank, and a bit soapy. Recommended as a different direction for hop lovers and Belgian lovers.
Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Troeg's | Tags: bitter, citrus, crisp, deep, delicious, dry, golden, grapefruit, long finish, orange, pine, resin, sweet, well balanced
Troegs Nugget Nectar
Style; glass: India Pale Ale/Imperial Amber; tulip
22 fl oz x 7.5% ABV = 165 / 60 = 2.75 beers * 150 C = 412.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Burlington, NJ for $5.99
A beautiful deep amber body under an off white head. Full of sweetness and bitterness so very nicely balanced. Pine, citrus and rind all meet in a deep and delicious beer.
Filed under: Elysian, IPA (shaker, tulip) | Tags: beautiful, bitter, brilliant, citrus, clear, crisp, dry, golden, hay, hoppy, mold, pine, resin, roasted, sour, wheat
Elysian The Immortal IPA
Style; glass: IPA; tulip
22 fl oz x 6.3% ABV = 138.6 / 60 = 2.31 beers * 150 C = 346.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $3.00
Aroma: sour, flowery, and some pine. Mold. Inviting.
Visuals: Overwrought packaging and label design, though the box branding won me over. Sunlight in the glass, though there is clearly sediment awaiting me in a subsequent pour. Bright, brilliant orange, with a wonderful white staying head and crisp, sticky lace.
Taste: beginning is resinous, malt is not sweet, as you might expect, but rather nutty. Charming. Middle is corn, hay, and dust. Grassy. Finish is aa light hoppy bitterness. Very enjoyable.
Palate: Starts heavy and rounded in the mouth, works quickly to crispness and bite, then to some warmth and a middle length butter finish. Well done.
Overall: Delicious, definitely not an imperial style, but I appreciate the subtlety and focus on hops. Malt is secondary here, and sweetness is clearly muted. I like it a bunch!
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Filed under: Barleywine Style Ale (snifter), Sierra Nevada | Tags: alcohol, beautiful, bitter, brilliant, caramel, cherry, citrus, crisp, delicious, dry, grapefruit, hoppy, long finish, nice, orange, pine, resin, strong, sweet
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot BWSA 2009
Style; glass: BWSA; snifter
12 fl oz x 9.6% ABV = 115.2 / 60 = 1.92 beers * 150 C = 288 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Super Saver Pennington, NJ for $1.99
Aroma: Tea, cherries, alcohol, oak, hay, smoke, agitation brings out the hops
Visuals: well designed packaging, inviting, funny, and brand-strong, A deep pool of tea, orange to red, brilliant and clear, thin gray head, very nice lacing.
Taste: Overtly sweet and malty, some roasty flavors, high gravity, caramel, sharp crisp hoppy bitterness.
Palate: Starts heavy with sweetness, syrupy, quickly moves to tea and caramel, followed by slow descent to bitterness and hoppy overload.
Overall: Delicious and amazing. I have to grab it when I first see it each season. Great stuff. An absolute go-to fave. Value is amazing for the craft involved. Despite the macro overtones of what Sierra Nevada is doing, on their scale, you have to give them credit for delivering on flavor and quality on their brews — they do macro right.
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Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Stone | Tags: amazing, banana, bitter, brilliant, citrus, crisp, delicious, fruit, golden, grapefruit, hoppy, nice, pine, sweet, wheat
Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
Style; glass: IPA; tulip
22 fl oz x 6.9% ABV = 151.8 / 60 = 2.53 beers * 150 C = 379.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville for $7.99
Aroma: sweet, banana and cloves, some citrusy hops, pine, grass.
Visuals: packaging is beautiful, though screen printing always seems to be coming off the bottle. It gives the brand a bit of crumbly marble style, though I wonder if it’s intentional? Perhaps the most brilliant IPA I’ve ever seen, absolutely crystal clear. Like the final scene in THX 1138, it’s that bright sunlight. Golden, pale, transparent, bright white head, sticky fresh Belgian lace. Carbonation is continuous.
Taste: Delicious, sweet, and hoppy. A great blend, very much in the spirit of Chouffe’s Hobblon Dobblen (sp?). Expertly balanced, nice easygoing maltiness, great hops. Perhaps my favorite new session brew.
Palate: Crisp, clean, and refreshing. A dream of fusion of two of my favorite styles. I hope they develop an imperial of this. Starts very sweet, crisp, middle has a bit of a burn and slight roastiness, finish is hops and bitterness with a salty sweet end note. Amazing.
Overall: In terms of lighter brews and more reasonable ABVs, this is a clear winner, and easily my favorite IPA at the moment, and very much a favorite all around, though my top honor still goes to Mikkeller for Black. I’m going to get more, soon. Stone, just keep them coming, and please consider an imperial version of this.
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Filed under: Breckenridge, Imperial/Double IPA (snifter, tulip) | Tags: bitter, citrus, cloudy, golden, hazy, hoppy, long finish, orange, pine, red, resin
Breckenridge Small Batch DIPA
Style and Glass: DIPA; Tulip, Snifter
ABV, Volume & Calories: 9.2% in12 fl oz. estimated at 200 C
Purchased at: Hulmeville Inn for $7.00
Aroma: A pine forest with a grapefruit juice truck spill. Delicious.
Visuals: Very nice packaging, inviting, well designed. Hazy thick orange deep body with long lasting, thin white head and thin soapy lace.
Taste: Grapefruit, pine, resin, and hops.
Palate: Thick start with a bitter middle and finish. No crispness. Very much an IPA, and extremely so. Delicious.
Overall: A very good beer, a great example of an DIPA, and a delicious pairing compliment.
Filed under: Barleywine Style Ale (snifter), Schlafly | Tags: alcohol, amazing, beautiful, bitter, brilliant, clear, dark, deep, hoppy, long finish, oak, pine, red, resin, resinous, sour, whiskey
Schlafly Oak Aged Barley Wine Style Ale
Style and Glass: Barley Wine Style Ale, Snifter
ABV, Volume & Calories: 10.2% in 25.4 fl oz. estimated at 400C
Purchased at: Canal’s Hamilton for $11.99
Aroma: Oak, whiskey, alcohol, heartburn, smoke, and tobacco. An exhilarating aroma, and just being around it seems a little bit like a spicy barbecue is nearby.
Visuals: Packaging is a bit precious, but well done, and meets the need for specialty presentation. Body is an angry deep hazy red under an almost white long lasting head. Freshness and quality are evident from the way the body acts. Lacing is sticky and thick. Beautiful.
Taste: licorice, smoke, spices, and oak meld at the front, the middle has a deep slow burn, and the finish is almost all hops with a sweet malty undertone. An amazing brew. The oak really gives this BWSA a depth and flavor that I find pretty unique. Barbeque sweetness and smoke is welcome. This should be had with some blackened chicken and spicy curried potatoes. This would be great with Indian cuisine.
Palate: Smoother than you’d expect by far. Very oaky, woody, and crisp. A bit sour, puckers after a moment. Finish is warm, delicious, and strong
Overall: I love this, but I’d love it more playing against some savory and spicy flavors. Delicious.
