Tricerahops Double IPA - Ninkasi Brewing Company

zeff80

Missouri

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a clear, copper color with a one-finger, off-white head of foam. Nice retention and some lacing.

S - Great IPA aroma. Good burnt toast malt, pine, grapefruit and orange peel.

T - The bitter hop character comes through quite strongly with grapefruit, orange and pine. The caramel and malt flavor takes a back seat to the hops.

M - This is crisp, sharp and finished dry. A medium bodied ale.

D - A very fine double IPA that has a great aroma and packs a delicious hop punch.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2010 00:46:56 | More by zeff80

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A solid pour produces a three finger thick, light tan color that forms some nice lacing on the sides of my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is brilliantly clear and shows a nice red color, when held up to the light it shows a red copper color. The aroma smells quite smooth with a focus on bright fruit and caramel. Aromas of ruby-red grapefruit, bergamot, lots of lychee and candied orange creams. a touch of cracker like malt rounds out the finish. The aroma has a nice hop-fruit focus to it, a touch of pine / herbal notes would be nice and the overall volume of the hop character could definitely be turned up quite a bit more. This is quite nice though and is a pleasure to smell for a couple minutes.

Served lightly chilled (near 60ºF / ºC) the beer has a certain dryness to it that is offset by the sweet tasting hop fruit notes. Flavors of lychee, candied grapefruit zest, perhaps a touch of pineapple, a nice mix of essential citrus oils and even some nice, off-setting pine needle flavors and a touch of menthol. The malt is definitely secondary here (as it should be); it adds some accentuating caramelized notes that accentuate the hop fruitiness and there is a touch of cracker-like grain to the finish as well as a touch of chewy bread crust flavors that peeks through from time to time. This is quite smooth in the flavor, the bitterness is quite mellow with only a touch of a bite (at least comparatively to other Double IPAs). This has a medium'ish body to it that is just about the right lightness for a Double IPA; it has that quaffable quality to it that is critical for the style.

This is a nice Double IPA, it could use a touch more vibrant hop character for my tastes, but that might just be a freshness thing. This is quite hoppy, and quite a nice beer. I definitely like that the beer is fairly light, and does not have the heaviness that some Double IPAs have.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2009 03:58:25 | More by Gueuzedude

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

Halcyondays

California

4.2/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bottle,

A: Pours amber with a nice long-lasting white head, good lace.

S: Tropical fruit salad, complex and fragrant.

T: Sweet pineapple, passion fruit, guava, very tropical. Malt is nice, almost a cake batter flavour, with some strawberry and grapefruit in the finish.

M: Medium/full-bodied, long aftertaste, very light carbonation.

D: I'm glad this was finally available at BevMo, after Ninkasi's been available for a couple months I wondered when this was going to show up. Under $5 a bomber for a DIPA of this quality, an easy buy.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2010 03:02:22 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

4.53/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: dark orange in color with a merangue like thick head that slowly falls to a spotty foam. Thick lace paints the glass.

Smell: loads of pine, grapefruit, and earthy hop presence dominates the aroma.

Taste: big caramel flavor with an great balance of pine, grapefruit, biscuit, pears, and a bold bitterness that does not go over the top like some in the style.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp throughout with some dryness late.

Overall: this was a super fresh DIPA that was so well balanced I had to have two in the session. Refreshing and totally satisfying, I returned to the same bar to have it two nights in a row.

Serving type: on-tap

11-22-2011 00:51:19 | More by Gavage

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

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

22oz bottle, a souvenir from a trip through Idaho earlier this summer.

This beer pours a hazy, sediment-suspended medium golden amber hue, with two fingers of foamy, rocky pale beige head, with settles slowly, showing off a nice consistent webbed pattern of lace for its efforts. The aroma is one of pine oil and citrus peel, so familiar, over a decent, if unassertive, supporting caramel malt, and echo of soft booziness. The taste is citrus, pine, and herbal hops, over the same less than thrilling, somewhat caramel, somewhat bready maltiness. For the 8 point 8 points of ABV, they sure don't assert themselves much. The carbonation is a bit less than the expected average zing, which result in an adequately smooth, and airily creamy body, the loitering hops not really interfering with this notion. It finishes off-dry, to be sure, though not overy so, the latent malt doing a fairly bang-up job of countering the weakening hoppiness.

A fairly enjoyable brew, with more IPA tendencies, than those of a DIPA, which I suppose speaks well of the whole affair, given that little of the quite elevated ABV shines through. If you can ignore the minor herbal character, this an enjoyable enough big-ass IPA - drink at will, especially with the friendly grocery-store pricing.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2011 02:36:53 | More by biboergosum

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A pretty nice DIPA, though the only thing from it that really strikes me as a double ipa is the thicker sweetness from the malts. Sure, the hops are full and distinct, but not so much so when compared to what the "lesser" IPA usually presents. Certainly an easy drinker. And overall, it's a pretty nice beer. Just not really blowing me away or anything.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 22:18:31 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.23/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured a dark orange color with good carbonation and a nice white head.

S: Nose is faint, very faint hints of caramel, pine needles, earth. Disappointing.

T: Rather lackluster. Minor notes of pine sap, orange peel. Caramel and a bread. Some yeast as well.

M: Not much bitterness, medium body, good booze feel

O: Overrated IIPA

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 23:25:17 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

3.93/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to msubulldog25 for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Pours a nice cloudy golden orange/yellow color, some carbonation, nice little fizzy off-white head, with some minimal sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, malty, with some citrus, very slight pine. The taste is very sweet for an DIPA, hoppy, but more on the malt side, citrus, very slight pines. Medium body. Drinkable, a tasty brew. My first from this brewery, thanks Brian.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2009 20:25:27 | More by Wasatch

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(Served in a tulip)
A- This beer pours a hazy deep orange body with a slight brown hue to it and a sea of microbubbles racing to the surface. There is a thick creamy beige head that last a good bit.
S- The sweet malt notes of honey malt and caramel malt are soon taken over by woody green hops that full the air. There is some light buttery orange notes that come through as the beer opens up.
T- The sweet malt caramel flavor blends with green grapefruit zest hops and some orange juice notes to the hops with a pungent hop finish that lingers a bit.
M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with no alcohol heat noticed.
D- This beer has a nice malty sweet backbone that supports a full hop profile with some bitterness and some nice depth.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2011 21:55:52 | More by rhoadsrage

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a light fizzy head covering clear but with tons of sediment orange golden honey colored.

Nose has some nice hops, nothing too heavy, a bit of citrus and fruit hops, a slight orange zest and some pine, a touch of musty hop resin, and a slight malty sweetness underneath.

Taste starts a bit malty, a slight malty sweetness, but pretty much all pale malts, then some bitterness, fairly bitter but not too heavy, and plenty of hops, mostly bittering hops, but it does bring a bit of pine, fresh musty resinous hop flavors, some orange peel, some citrus, quite a bit or rind, but also a bit soapy and has a slight astringent finish, that doesn't dry as much as I would expect, and leaves itself a little sticky. The astringent and heavy bittering hops add a slight metallic tinge as well. Overall seems to be mostly bittering hops and left out on the aroma an hop flavors more, and what is there for flavor isn't as sharp as it should be, seems muted and flat.

Mouth is medium bodied with lower carbonation.

Drink is OK, not great, hits with just a touch of warming booze, a bit sticky on the finish, and some astringent bittering hops on the finish, as well as a slight metallic twang.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2011 03:23:53 | More by jlindros

Zorro

California

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

Chill hazed copper colored ale with a tall off-white colored head.

Strong hops in the scent with the scents of toast and tobacco being the strongest, strange. Abundant ethanol carries a melon scent. Scents of leather and caramel smell something like British Imperial Pale Ale.

Starts out woody and herbal with a hop and strong tea flavor. Getting lots of herbal hops with this one and very little C Type Hops. Mostly this is just very herbal.

Mouthfeel is good.

Drinkability is OK. The taste of this one is very different; I would classify this as an Imperial BPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2010 00:35:04 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

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

22 oz bottle into a tulip. Thanks go to wackyfoot for this in a recent trade.

Pours a clear (and quite effervescent) copper, topped with a finger of off-white frothy head. Retains with a bit of a thin yet creamy looking layer but this flares up very nicely, leaving back a massively sticky latticework of lacing that coats the sides. The aroma is fairly sharp in the nostrils, with floral character, pine, spice, and heat, giving this a fine-tuned hoppy punch. Smooth tropical fruit notes and grainy sweetness help even this out very nicely.

The hops are as strong in the taste, as they were in the aroma, with an assertively sticky and spicy bitterness. That same well done balance (heck, maybe even a bit better) comes courtesy of that same mix of soft feeling tropical fruits and toasted bready malts. Even the finish is balanced, with lingering spice being quickly cut short by a quick splash of malts and fruit. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a soft and velvety texture to the carbonation that keeps this very easy feeling in the mouth. The ABV is kept in check here, with a steady warmth on the breath, yet this never gets stinging.

Very well done DIPA here from Ninkasi, with a softer and more delicate balance of hops and malt that does a great job of masking that nearly 9% ABV. Quite the flavorful easy sipper here.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2009 19:25:25 | More by Kegatron

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bomber, big thanks to googzoid10! Review # 1700!

Pours a very clear dark amber orange, medium sized off white head forms, quickly settles to a thick ring around the glass, looks pretty nice. Smell is very fruity, strawberries and cherries, caramel, some sugary sweetness, very fruit, neat tropical fruit aroma, some neat character to this one. Taste is similar, sweet and fruity, strawberries, alcohol comes through, light citrus and grapefruit, sugary, some nice citrus acidity and bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation, smooth for the ABV, quite nice and a very interesting DIPA. Thanks Greg!

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2009 02:56:06 | More by Viggo

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A good clear, amber/autumn appearance. Minimal head and lacing. Great hop pine aroma.

Great amounts of hops and bitterness coat the palate. Not heavy malt wise. Good mouthfeel, nothing resonates to take away from its hop character (and that's why we drink DIPA right?). Not just absurd bitterness, but plays well with the dry hop taste.

Alcohol remains hidden very well, very pleased to be getting this beer in NorCal, much less for only $5.99 a 22. One of many great, nationally under the radar ipa's coming out of Oregon.

EDIT: How many old bottles did Bevmo pick up of this? The last 3 times, old, faded. An A- when fresh.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2010 19:33:19 | More by Beerandraiderfan

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

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

Had this beer on tap at the Horsebrass pub the other night. I confess that I'm a bit surprised that I'm the first one to review this beer, as it's been out for a bit now and, at least in my opinion, is the most impressive beer Ninkasi has made to date.

This beer pours the quintessential light gold/orange DIPA color, with decent head retention and excellent lacing. On the nose one gets a blast of citrus and pine resin. There is no comparison between this beer and the regular IPA (which I confess has never impressed me); it's in a completely different league. This smells like it will be a fabulous DIPA, which of course it is. On the palate this stuff is just hop heaven nectar. Huge hops on the palate, with apple, citrus and pine. The beer does not have a huge malt presence (thankfully - no one will mistake this for an East Coast/midwest DIPA), and in fact it comes across as a bit dry. The beer has a lovely light mouthfeel (for a DIPA), and is a joy to drink. Yes, the abv. is a bit noticeable on the finish, making it a bit tiring to drink, but then again we are talking about a nearly 10% DIPA.

This is an outstanding beer. Frankly, I've not been as impressed as others by Ninkasi beers, but this one had me going "wow." I guess the name is a nod to the background of the brewer, who as I recall worked previously at Steelhead Brewing. Hoposauraus Rex and now the tricerhops.... two huge, mammoth, dinosaur of a DIPA. Very well done....

Serving type: on-tap

07-30-2007 03:29:39 | More by johnmichaelsen

DrJay

Massachusetts

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

Murky peach with a dense cap of off-white foam that lingered. Good head retention, lots of lacing. Grapefruit and lemon aroma, pine and caramel, oranges and stone fruits. Bitterness was strong, but not harsh, with plenty of citrus pith flavour and biscuity, cookie dough maltiness. Velvety carbonation with medium to full body. Overall, very nice and easy drinking. There are plenty of hops, but they're not overpowering.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2011 03:32:24 | More by DrJay

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

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tricerahops is a tri-coloured beer - all three of them varying shades of gold. Its base is bright yellow, its torso tarnished golden and, at its top, it is blistered enough to be considered amber. (Of course, holding it at different angles, against different strength lights, is bound to shuffle everything up and/or accentuate one tone over the other.)

If you homebrew, you know that smell that comes over the garage once you drop those hop pellets into the boil or what it smells like to clean the carboy out after it's had two weeks of dry-hopping. Cracking the crown on this bottle had the same smell which, for those who haven't made their own, is that of pungent herbals and rank, bitter citrus.

There's plenty of lemon zest and dried orange peel shavings in the flavour, enough that you'd suspect the actual fruits might have been added. But no, they have not, such is simply the mystical properties of hops. Hard water minerals trigger an almost bronze-like note that, short of becoming metallic, is washed away by yet more soapy hop character.

The alcohol pokes a few holes in the beer, but never succeeds in tearing things apart; this toasty maltiness is tightly knit enough to withhold the eight something percent (and a little warming too). It's sturdy, but designed so as not to stunt the blossom of those fruity, floral hops. Indeed, they're completely unencumbered on the finish.

Tricerahops is indeed a great beast; like the dinosaur that this cheesy (but clever) pun is based on, it has a large bony frill (toasty malts) over which hang three sharp, protruding horns (Amarillo, Centennial, Palisade hops). Fortunately I don't think we have to worry about this guy going extinct any time soon - Ninkasi is sure to be around for a long, long time.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2011 05:24:54 | More by biegaman

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.14/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Golden-bronze with an off-white head, light retention & initial lace.

S: Not a huge aroma for a DIPA, but it's nice: pine, mango, citrus, sponge toffee...

T: Nice piny resin, assertive bitterness, but not all harsh. Mango, nectarine, apricot, sponge toffee, hint of biscuit. Alcohol is subtle.

M: Well-attenuated, moderate body has a light hop acidity with a crisp finish.

O: Certainly hop-accented, but not at all unbalanced. Incredibly drinkable for a brew of this strength.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 03:36:50 | More by Derek

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to yllwsmly to trading this to me and giving me a chance to try this beer. I just missed this coming out the last time I was in Portland, so I was happy to be able to get some from this fairly interesting brewery. Pours a slightly hazy orange with a fairly nice head that fades quickly to a cap that sticks around for a while. Some loose lacing. Very nice aroma of grapefruit and orange from the lovely hops. Some floral aromas as well. Quite delicate. The taste is also clean and somewhat delicate but very clean and pure tasting. Nice flavors of orange and grapefruit citrus again, quite bright. Slightly sweet, so the malt is there, but it is a bit thin, and the flavors could be a little longer as well. Still, very tasty. Nice level of carbonation. The body is on the thin side, but it worked with the clean flavors. The slight sweetness gives it a nice finish. Quite nice, although it is on the light side for a double IPA, the pure, citrusy flavors and slight sweetness makes this a pleasant experience.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2008 01:54:16 | More by Georgiabeer

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4.18/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 picked up over the weekend at Belmont Station... poured tonight into my Chimay goblet.

1" head... doesn't stick around too long.. but it does leave fairly nice looking sheets of lace... the brew is bright glowing orange with a soft haze.

piney... and citric with some slight caramel sweetness... doesn't exactly strike me as overbearing as many PNW DIPA's can be... I like the nose on this one... nice and balanced for the style.

pretty good bitterness out of the gate.. caramel and to a lesser extent pale malts.... melts into a fruity hoppiness.. first the pine.. slight though.. then a nice blast of pineapple... tangerine zest .. and a little bit of orange... maybe even some orange juice... finish is a long lingering oily hoppiness.. a little bit of pine sap. Body is maybe a little light for the style.. but nothing worth bitching about.. carbonation may also be a little light but that bumps up the drinkability in my mind.

I really... really like this... tastes very fresh and juicy.. No one is gonna mistake this for an unbalanced monster of a DIPA... instead.. it should be considered a lesson of walking the fine line where many breweries go overboard.. very balanced.

4/4/4.5/3.5/4

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2008 07:02:31 | More by JohnGalt1

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Big thanks goes out to Pullen for this as an extra in an in-person trade quite awhile back! Served from bottle into a Delerium Tremens snifter. Poured a hazy red-orange with a one finger off-white head. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt and citrus hops. The flavor was of sweet malt and citrus hops as well. It had a medium feel on the palate with low-mid carbonation. Overall this brew is quite excellently balanced. Have a very nice aroma and flavor going on here. Probably one of top IIPA's that I've had. Massive thanks again John for this one!

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2010 12:31:59 | More by thagr81us

ccrida

Oregon

4.43/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Had a nonic on draught at the Beer Stein in Eugene, Ticerhops poured a cloudy light rust color with a thin, off-white collar and surface skim, leaving light lace.

The aroma is very strong hops, all pine, with a touch of alcohol as it warms.

The taste is fantastic, more complex the then nose, and remarkably balanced in spite of the extreme hops and high ABV. Still all about the piney, earthy hops, but tempered with a nice english ale yeast fruitiness and enough pale and crystal malts to give it backbone without making it to sweet or heavy. Very smooth, with a firm, bitter finish. I can see why this won the cup, it's very well crafted.

The mouthfeel is oily yet has a moderate amount of creamy carbonation. It's medium bodied.

This is a very tasty IPA, so smooth and easy drinking, you can really get into trouble if you loose track of the ABV, which is barely noticeable.

Serving type: on-tap

08-15-2007 18:36:12 | More by ccrida

RoyalT

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - This came out a thick and rugged orangish-brown in color with a modest head that left good lacing though.

Smell - The hop aroma has a stale grapefruit aspect that kind of turns me off, and the yeast comes on like a bear here. It has characteristics similar to an English bitter. All in all I like some aspects of the nose, such as how the light malts balance some of the harsher hops, but overall it was clumsy to me.

Taste - The hop flavor came out a bit smoother at the taste but this was still an awkward and somewhat embarrassing effort at the style. I'm a big fan of OR IPAs and DIPAs, but this just lost its way.

Mouthfeel - This is medium-bodied with some light carbonation and a big bitter finish that will surprise a lot of people.

Drinkability - This was not as bad to drink as you'd think from the review. I actually enjoyed some of the flavors but it certainly was not a classic DIPA and most definitely fell short of my expectation of a OR effort.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2010 03:09:29 | More by RoyalT