Tricerahops Double IPA - Ninkasi Brewing Company

RustyDiamond

Georgia

4.35/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into my SA beer glass. Hazy, bright orange with a faint little white frothy head. Aromas of pine & citrus. Head quickly dissipates leaving a white ring of film.
Sweet taste at first, which becomes piney and chalky. Very drinkable for 9%...almost too easy. Honey in the mouthfeel...dry hop finish. Very clean for a big IPA like this.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2008 21:19:06 | More by RustyDiamond

ATLbeerDog

Georgia

3.73/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a light orange color with a below average head, average lacing and average carbonation. The dominate smell is heavy citrusy floral hops and mild malts. First taste is light, sweet, and a very crisp hoppy note. Light in body and taste. The 9% ABV is very well hidden. Not bad.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2008 03:32:58 | More by ATLbeerDog

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.68/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

"Tricerahops is double of everything you already love in an IPA. More hops, more malt body and a higher gravity define this Double India Pale Ale. Fiercely flavorful, guaranteed to satisfy."

--Tricerahops Double IPA label

Polished kumquat with a handful of swirling yeast that settle into suspension shortly after the pour. Unfiltered (hoppy) beer looks better, smells better and tastes better. The bone white cap tops out at two fingers and more than does its part to add to the attractive appearance. Hopefully, lotsa lace means lotsa hop resins.

Once the foam melts a little, the nose is able to be appreciated. It's pretty good, but it isn't roaring out of the glass. The citric cheesiness brings Cascade to mind. One other variety might be present; it's hard to say for sure.

This Ninkasi offering isn't a rampaging, slavering, ripsnorting, carnivorous beast of a DIPA, but then triceratops were placid plant eaters, weren't they? Yeah, I'm well aware that the beer's name is TriceraHOPS, but with a name like that it should be hoppier. If the brewery is claiming that this DIPA is twice as hoppy as Total Domination IPA, I don't believe it for a second.

The biggest reason it's still above average is that it's closer to a big IPA (as all versions of the style should be) than a barleywine in disguise. In other words, there isn't so much malt that it gunks up the taste buds with sugars. It provides a modest amount of sugar cookie sweetness, then gets the hell out of the way. Trouble is, hops don't exactly rush into the breach.

Candied lemon and grapefruit peel are present, as is a modicum of funky cheesiness that adds another level of flavor interest. The IBUs might be higher here, but this beer doesn't seem as hoppy as Total Domination... which wasn't a hop bomb anyway. Fresh and right out of the keg it just might be killer. Too bad I'll probably never know for sure.

While the mouthfeel is a fraction lighter than the style average, it doesn't deserve to be dinged for it. It has just enough smooth stickiness to be enjoyable, while still allowing one to sip or drink quickly with equal ease. The ABV tastes and feels like a misprint. I'd have guessed at least two percentage points lower.

Tricerahops is a great name for a DIPA. Too bad the beer isn't as spectacular as the name. I'm sure there are those who think the world of it, but from my perspective, if the brewery wants to keep this offering from becoming extinct, they need to use a bigger shovel when adding hops to the kettle.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2008 21:45:01 | More by BuckeyeNation

cswhitehorse

Oregon

4.6/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

The Tricerhops pours a cloudy light autumn orange with a solid 1-2 finger foam head. There was some intermittent lacing that left its mark.

The aroma is heaven for a hop head like myself. I could glean the lovely cascade smell with some real sweetness.

The taste was really smooth with not alot of bite but a lot of hop flavor. It was like drinking a DIPA ice cream cone. On the finish there was some dank bitterness that left a pleasant feeling in the mouth. Overall a wonderful effort by the Eugene brewers. I would drink this just about any day of the week.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2008 01:34:08 | More by cswhitehorse

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.3/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Purchased from bottletrek, pours an effervescent bronze with 1+ finger of pearl white head. Very good head retention & lacing

S: Some citrus hops & honey as this warms

T: Biscuitty & honey malt, lemony & orangey hops, plus a touch of dryness up front. Booze starts sneaking in along grapefruitty & piney hops as this warms, I also get toffee balancing out the hops with the help of some passion fruit & tangerine. Finishes with resiny & citrus hops, caramel, a bit more booze, pineapple & a touch more grapefruit & a good amount of honey

MF: Medium bodied, fairly creamy with superior balance, skews a bit malty, but I like em that way, a bit hotter than I'd like. Has some stickyness to it as well

Drinks too easy for the style, well put together, just a touch too much boozeyness to session, unless you have a death-wish!

Bring back the Cretaceous Era!

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2008 07:32:30 | More by russpowell

Hojaminbag

Colorado

4.35/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Got this in the mail from CCrida, thanks! I love the name.

Amber color with a very small white head. Leaves a little bit of lacing.

Not a strong smell, just a little floral hops.

Tasty. Bitterness up front gives way to citrus in the middle. Follows with a little dry piney flavor. I notice just a little sweet malt backbone in the finish. VERY smooth. Maybe the smoothest DIPA I've had, and well balanced too. Great brew, medium bodied.

This is a very drinkable beer. Smooth, well-balanced. Super high drinkablitity. Shared this with a few guys who aren't BA's and they loved it too.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2008 16:03:05 | More by Hojaminbag

abankovich

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured out of a 22oz bomber into my snifter. Nice warm deep amber color with very little head that was a clean white color.

Not too strong of an aroma compared to other DIPAs that I've had. Noticeable citrus hops and sweet caramel malt smells. Some toasted hints and also buttery notes present.

The alcohol on this is masked very well. This is a very smooth drinking DIPA. Sharp and bitter tastes up front that pass over the tongue very easily, nice and well rounded. Hop bitterness is present on the back end. The well-roundedness of this beer is fantastic.

Mouthfeel is light-medium and clean making the drinkability high on this one. Very refreshing beer and I'm glad that I got a chance to try this from a trade. I'll look for it next time I'm passing through Oregon.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2008 00:32:09 | More by abankovich

1whiskey

Oregon

4.75/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

22 oz bomber poured into a glass chalice. Bottle says 8.8% ABV. Tricerahops poured out a hazy soft amber with a big, silken white head.

This is probably the sweetest, freshest smelling hop perfume I have ever experienced. Wow. This aroma is unreal.

Taste is just as pleasurable as the aroma. Tons of hops flavor, nice level of bitterness, a hop lover's dream. But at the same time, it's very well balanced, with an almost honey-like sweetness. The alcohol can't be detected at all...very well hidden. This is a big beer that doesn't feel like a big beer.

Super drinkable...it tempting not to just quaff this down. Mouthfeel is very creamy with medium viscosity.

Another Ninkasi beer lives up to and exceeds the hype. This IPA is ridiculous. Seek it out.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2008 07:58:39 | More by 1whiskey

Beertracker

Oklahoma

3.95/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Ninkasi's Tricerahops Double IPA pours up with a soapy white head that persists above the slightly hazy, orangish-amber body. The hop accenuated aroma is mildly pungent with Pacific Northwest hops. The overall character is fruity (apricot, grapefruit, tangelo) with faint pine tar notes. There's a moderate graininess with hints of caramel that's constant in the background. The flavor starts off with some moderate caramel sweetness that's quickly cut by a surprisingly mild bitterness. The lightly warming finish is fruity, grainy, and slightly grassy. Light bodied per style with some astringency that detracts. This is a finely crafted DIPA that reperesents Oregon well. Here's to the Goddess Ninkasi and her namesake brewery from Eugene!

CHEERS! Beertracker

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2008 22:02:54 | More by Beertracker

jakon

Oregon

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle purchased for $4.99 on 4-2-4 at Whole Foods Portland.

This beer pours a golden orange with a nice tall eggshell colored head that leaves behind a solid wash of lacing as it recedes.

Bright tropical fruits and floral notes come through big in the aroma. The taste is big on grapefruit, pine, orange zest and dandelions with a light malt sweetness in the background.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable beer that I plan to purchase with regularity now that it is in bottles and such a fair price.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2008 04:58:06 | More by jakon

GJ40

North Carolina

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled on cask at Moon and Sixpence in Portland, OR.

I really enjoy a good beer on cask and this one was a pleasure. It had a nice golden color with some haze, a nice head and good lacing. It's got a citrusy, malty aroma and a smooth flavor with citrus and a mild sweetness. This is a very drinkable beer.

Serving type: cask

04-10-2008 03:14:35 | More by GJ40

BeerZack

North Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

22oz bottle says 8.8% alcohol.

Cloudy orange color with thin covering of foam, leaves some small patches of lace.

Surprisingly mild nose. Mostly citrus hops with some floral and spice. Overripe tropical fruit, touch of caramel with a hint of aspirin-like astringency.

Very mild in the malt department, very light, no complaints here. Tastes like hop-water, not astringent at all, but full of hop flavor. Grapefruit, pineapple, some musky/floral dankness.

Soft & smooth, easy and deceptively drinkable light-bodied DIPA. Dangerously drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2008 06:02:10 | More by BeerZack

HopHead84

California

3.45/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Pours a dark gold with a small, half finger head. The head lingers for a short time and leaves some lacing on the glass.

S: Sweet malt. There's a strange smell I can't put my finger on and that I've never smelled in a SDPA. It's a sweet smell that's a cross between a banana and a cantaloupe. Doesn't smell very hoppy and the normal characteristics of the style (pine, citrus, etc.) are not present.

T: Well balanced. Mild hop bitterness for the style. Minimal citrus notes and not a long finish. The alcohol is well masked.

M: Oily mouthfeel, medium bodied, and carbonation is lacking.

D: Very drinkable for an 8.8% beer. The low level of bitterness will ward off the palate fatigue for a while.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2008 04:04:28 | More by HopHead84

sinistermadman

Oregon

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy golden color with a slight head. Slight lacing. Nice hop aroma, although somewhat subdued for the style imo. Still, a nice bouquet. Taste is weighted in the hop direction with plenty of juicy citrus notes. Nice bready malt backing that doesn't intrude on the hop's territory. Oily hop goodness is the story here, though. Not at all brash, actually pretty easy drinking for 8.8%. This drinks like a plain-jane IPA. A finely crafted brew. Hats off.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2008 04:12:06 | More by sinistermadman

unclederby

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Ninkasi is a Eugene located brewery that's gaining considerable street cred here in the PNW. The Tricerahops in particular is receiving quite a bit of attention and earning formidable praise.

I've had it a few times on draft, and always thought it was pretty good... remembering that the first time i smelled this ale (about a year ago) I thought it smelled like a fat sack of dank weed. So now, with much anticipation and fanfare, i get to sample it for the first time from a bottle. Woohoo.

Yep, there it is again. The first whiff reminds me that cannabis and humulus lupulus are in the same botanical family. Needless to point out to Pacicfic Northwesterners, it's a very inviting nose. This initial blast of funkiness does abade after a bit; much like the frothy, one inch head this ale pours out with.

It's attractive too. A murky tangerine/orange in color, it has little, if any, visual activity suggesting carbonation. Spotty lacing dots the glass.

The flavor comes off alot livlier than the nose might lead you to anticipate; that is, it has a zesty and piney, and substantially citrus appeal with the just the faintest bit of earthiness in the aftertaste. Blanketing this is a solid malt backbone. Juicy.

Hoppy from start to finish, it doesn't however wreck the taste buds, but rather cleanses and refreshes.

Mouthfeel is a tad thin for my tastes in the style, and perhaps a bit more carbonation would give it more bite, but it's fine on it's own accords.

Overall a nice beer: tasty and very drinkable. The nearly 10% ABV is very well hidden and if I were given a guess i'd say it was much lower. I'm afraid I might be able to session this.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2008 05:32:41 | More by unclederby