Bitter Valentine - Williamsburg AleWerks

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Rustico in Alexandria. Served in a goblet.

Alcohol is listed as 9.0%.

A: Pours a clear light copper color with a nice tall off-white head with loads of lacing and great retention. I think I got those colors right; it's always so damn dark in this place.

S: My initial impression is loads of tropical fruits with a bit of citrus rind in the background. There may be a bit of malt, but I'm not getting any here. Mango and papaya abound. A bit of tangerine in there as well.

T: The flavor does not let me down either. Great continuation from the nose with prominent tropical and citrus fruits giving way to a fairly-heavy bitterness. Just a touch of warming alcohol. Load of fruity hope smack my tongue around.

M: Light-medium body with crisp carbonation. The feel is dominated by a fantastic bouquet of hops. Dry an bitter through and through.

O: A very, very solid offering. This is something that I am extremely proud to say came from Virginia. Now, please make more as I didn't hear about this beer until all the bottles were already gone.

Serving type: on-tap

02-24-2012 22:27:52 | More by Thorpe429

drabmuh

Maryland

4.28/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle shared by yourefragile. I had to get on the Bitter Valentine train before it left town. A great IPA. Seriously a great IPA. Here's hoping for year round Bitter Valentine!!!

Served in a snifter. Beer is orange and clear. Moderate carbonation. Thin white head, some lacing, low retention.

Aroma is like a tropical fruit salad. A little sweet. Some alcohol sneaks through but this is a hop bomb in the nose.

Drinks a lot like Lagunitas sucks but bigger. It is sweet up front and clean on the finish with a fair amount of bitterness and string floral and fruit flavors from the hops. Mangos and papaya with some citrus flavors in the background. I'd definitely have it again. I want this beer to be the mid-Atlantic Pliny or Heady. MAKE MORE!

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 18:11:58 | More by drabmuh

MasterSki

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Thorpe429 for the random hookup. Shared with the Chicago hags after Night of the Living Ales. Continued to use my taster glass at Chris' place.

A - Transparent golden body is topped by a finger-plus of white foam that settles to a thick collar, some wisps, but minimal lacework.

S - Extremely zesty, with citrus rind, chives, perhaps a touch of onion, pine, some mild dankness, and tropical fruits. Malt character is pretty understated, with some candied citrus. Potent and enjoyable stuff.

T - Malt character shines through a bit more in the flavor, with some sugar cookie and brown sugar flavors supporting the citrus, tropical fruits, pine, and zest. Again, I get a slight chive note that I generally associate with Summit or Citra hops - thankfully I like that flavor.

M - Medium body, with soft lower carbonation, no obvious alcohol, and a juicy texture. Finishes fairly dry. I could actually go for a few more bubbles here, but otherwise this is how I like them.

D - This is a very nice double IPA, and tastes far more like something you'd find in California than in Virginia. Doesn't raise the bar on the broadest scale, but for part of country that traditionally under-serviced this is probably a huge breath of fresh air. Highly enjoyable stuff - thanks Mike!

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 23:31:11 | More by MasterSki

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had really high hopes of trying this one when I saw it on the draft list. This beer poured out as a nice looking golden copper color with a white head on top... The lacing was sticky and had a good retention to it. The smell of the beer was floral and citrusy, just like a good IPA should be. The taste was lively and had a great bitterness to it. The mouthfeel was drinkable with a good carbonation to it. Overall this beer was good, I'm always happy to try the beers that Williamsburg puts out.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2012 01:51:27 | More by Knapp85

Wasatch

Utah

4.38/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to richardflyr for the in person trade when he visited Utah.

22oz. Bomber

Pours a very nice hazy golden orange color, nice carbonation, with a nice little fizzy off-white head, some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, nice touch of malts, with some citrus, and pine notes. The taste is very nice, a little hop bomb, with just enough malts to balance it out, nice citrus and pine to round things out. Medium body, with a slight dry/bitter finish. Overall this one really surprised me, glad to have a chance to try it. Thanks Dick!

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 19:17:30 | More by Wasatch

mdfb79

New York

4.43/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From 02/24/12 notes. Bottled shared by BigSexy410; thanks man, excited to try it. 22 oz. bomber into a Bell's tulip.

a - Pours a somewhat transparent orange-amber color with one inch of white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of pine hops, grapefruit, citrus hops, oranges, fruits malts, and light tropical fruits. Nose is awesome, very fresh and a ton of pine, citrus, and fruit. Loving it.

t - Tastes of citrus hops, grapefruit, pine hops, oranges, lemons, fruity malts, tropical fruits, and light floral hops. Taste is quite bitter. Very nice again, but not as great as the nose.

m - Medium body and low carbonation, with a decent amount of bitterness.

o - Overall this is the best beer of all time.

All kidding aside and trying to eliminate some homerism, this is a very good DIPA. The nose is amazing, just full of fresh hops and fruits, and the taste is really good too. Some bitterness to the taste, but really nice. The night before having this I had a bottle of Lunch, White Rajah, and 1.5 month old Hopslam and I honestly think I liked this better then all of them. Really hoping they start brewing this one on a consistent basis.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2012 16:24:36 | More by mdfb79

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to riotinmyskull (Reddit) for supplying this goody.

Pours a lighter fizzy 1/2 finger head that fades at a med pace, with some sticky lacing, over mostly clear golden tan honey colored beer.

Nose brings some nice hops, mostly citrus with some tangerine and hint of orange zest, light stone fruit like apricot and nectarine, hint of tropical fruit grapefruit and pineapple, etc, but none of the hop characters dominant. A sweet malty base comes through underneath with some candied orange aromas.

Taste starts with sweet malts, juicy sweet malts with a bit of reddish malt flavors and hint of caramel, before hops kick in quickly. Quite bitter with some earthy bittering hops, then citrus and orange rind, fruits both stone and tropical bring tangerine, nectarine, apricot, slight peach like, pineapple, etc. Some nice fruit flavors. in the back end a slight bitter resinous fresh hop flavor comes in, that teases on astringent but not much. The finish stays quite bitter, with a long lingering bitterness on the finish, hints of tropical and stone fruits remaining, with a light pine and resinous musty hop lingering as well, and hints of candy hop, and fairly dry.

Mouth is med bodied, hint of warming booze but not much, decent carb.

Overall pretty good, an almost staple version of what a DIPA should be, a nice bitterness that borders astringency but doesn't overpower, long lingering bitter finish, nice balance between bittering and flavor/aroma hops, and nice balance of malty sweetness to back up the bitterness with a touch of booze that barely comes into play. Tasty and well done DIPA that I would love to try on draft, and get a regular supply of.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 22:23:30 | More by jlindros

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First had: on tap at Pinocchio's, Media, PA
This review is for a bottle acquired also at Pinocchio's, Media, PA.

I typically don't do separate reviews for beer I've had in bottles and on tap, unless they're significantly different, and I feel that was the case with Bitter Valentine. While still a great beer overall, I definitely liked the taste much better when I had it fresh and on tap. Seems natural. On the other hand, the bottle pour had a much more attractive look to it, so it was really a different experience overall.

Poured into a Deschutes snifter, honey-amber with a fluffy, rocky, white head that retained well and left a bit of lacing on the glass. Aroma rich with citrusy hops and toasted bread. Big hop taste up front, quite more bitter than its on-tap counterpart, mix of orange pith and zest, and some pine notes, with a toasty malt base. Also not much of the tropical fruit flavors I got on tap either. Still very solid and enjoyable. Bitterness detracted a little from the mouthfeel, but still, medium bodied and easily drinkable. Nice beer overall. (Better fresh and on tap.)

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 23:13:53 | More by Rifugium

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had during the 2nd Annual Redneck Racin’ & Tastin’ while tailgating at the dirt track race! Big thanks goes out to cmrillo’s wife (who is on BA but won't tell me her userhandle) for this one! Served from bottle into a NoDa snifter. Poured red-orange with a minimal white head. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, wheat, earth, spice, citrus, earth hop, and floral hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, citrus, earth, earth hop, citrus, and floral hop. It had a light feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. The standout point on this brew was definitely the floral hop character which I am a real big fan of. However, nothing else on this one really stood out to me which was rather unfortunate. It was easy drinking out in the sun that evening, but definitely not a stand out in the style. Worth trying if you get the chance.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2012 12:55:02 | More by thagr81us

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer is clear and orange hued with a small, white head. Plenty of sticky lacing coats the pint glass. The aroma is quite nice, offering grapefruit, misc. citrus, fresh hops. The flavor follows suit. Gotta love a fresh, citrusy DIPA. A touch of honey sweetness in the back. Lingering hop bitterness. Alcohol content well disguised. Highly drinkable, it was just too easy to drink the bomber unaided. I wish I had more. This is easily the best DIPA to emerge from the DC/Maryland/Virginia area so far.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 22:53:47 | More by Huhzubendah

smakawhat

Maryland

4.4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

A real gorgeous crystal clear body color, some very slow rising carbonation barely comes up through red and orange bronze body. It's a beautiful color. Head forms nicely, off white to faint cream yellow, some sticky sheets of lace while drinking.

Nose is just a tad one dimensional, but boy it is big. Ripping hops on this sucker, mostly I get a more pine sense from it on first pour. Dry, earthy, then comes some faint citrus orange behind it, after going back from a few sips, faint malt barely.

On taste, huge. A sweet rush at first, mixing with a good creamy palate feel. Juicy, bursting, mellow citrus at first, some orange, soft bodied, oily finish on the swallow. Stinging needles rooftop hop on the mouth. Warms up, gets white grapefruit and sprinkled white sugar, hot hop bitter mix with it a bit. A real controlled hop blast, and also a neat just before you swallow feel on this that is hard to describe. Mouth sticking, teeth coating, resiny finish.

Overall not boozy, controlled but large. Nearing perfection but a unique one in the big DIPA realm. This one is a whole nother level. Killer brew.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 23:49:52 | More by smakawhat

FosterJM

California

3.5/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1457th Review on BA
Bottle to Tulip
22oz

No bottle date
CA Gang Bang BIF

App- Had a very deep orange color with a lighter center. A little bit of yellows in the glass with a good clarity. 0 head or cling. Very flat on the pour.

Smell- It openened with a small tropical note and then progressed into a smaller pine with a good amount of hops to it.

Taste- This is a big DIPA. The 9% isnt messing around. Had a small creamy flavor behind it with a thicker pine flavor and was flavorful if not one dimensional.

Mouth- A lighter medium body which I thought was odd. A medium carbonation level. Gave the feel a thicker mode to it.

Drink- It was tasty, like I said, just one dimensional. Needed more citrus balance to tame the pine.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 16:05:55 | More by FosterJM

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On Tap at Blue Dog Pub in Lansdale.

Bitter Valentine had a golden look to it, pretty and bright with some orange haze mized in with amber tones. A very sturdy inch of white foam that left some nice globs.

This certainly smells like one of those nice west coast style IPA's yo heard of. This has a big piney scent with some tropic fruits in the mix. A nice biscuit type malt nose in the background. Earthy after a bit of warming with some sweetness settling in. No alcohol in the scent.

And tasting this, the first sips scorches the tounge with bitter dank piney resinous hops that stick. Getting around that some juicy fruit tropic taste with grapefruit. The pine shines though. Sweetness with warming and towards the end of the glass, a bit of a bubblegum presence with some caramel. The hops are the spotlight though

Feel less than medium with some lively carb in appearance, yet this goes down a bit smooth and not bitey. It is bitey in the sense that the hops cling to the mouth making the bitter in Bitter Valentine a true statement. Oily with resinous aftertaste.

At 9%, one is great at the bar, if i had some bombers of this at the house I would take down one or two of them easy as the flavor profile here is on point. I would do it ASAP as the hops tend to fade fast on these East Coast IPA's. This one has some muster though, glad to have tried it. Probably my favorite offering from this brewery that I've tried yet.

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2012 03:00:44 | More by onix1agr

oline73

Maryland

4.3/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bomber into a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a finger of smooth, off white head. The head fades to a thick ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Bready malt is surprisingly prevalent with some citrus peel and pine hops. The pine notes are very faint. There is a sweetness from the malt here as well.

Taste: Like a west coast DIPA but there is a lot more malt backbone. Quite bitter, but the bitterness is smooth, not too biting. Pine and citrus peel hops throughout, but the finish is especially bitter.

Mouthfeel: The body is just on the thick side of medium with very mild carbonation and a dry finish. Could use a bit more carbonation.

Overall: This is a really nice beer. The balance is very nice, the malt doesn't allow the hops to dominate too much, but they're still the star.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 00:53:29 | More by oline73

billab914

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz bottle into my Southern Tier tulip. It poured clear and amber orange in color. A thin white head barely covered the top of the beer and clung to the edges of the glass. Great color to it.

The aroma has a very bright and juicy hoppiness to it. I get a very nice tropical fruit component to it with some pineapple, peach and mango all coming out. Great aroma to it, I love the juicier, tropical fruit notes.

The taste has the juicy, tropical notes but it shows a little more of a dry, grapefruit and citrus rind bitterness in the finish. I get a little more of a sweeter maltiness showing through as well. Again though, the juicy, fruity, hop flavors really steal the show though for me.

The mouthfeel is medium bodies with carbonation being moderate. Overall I thought it was a great beer. I loved the juicy, tropical fruit like hoppiness to it. Very flavorful and drinkable. Williamsburg has a real winner with this one, I hope they make it more often.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 21:36:21 | More by billab914

ehammond1

California

4.03/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle (2012)

Thanks to the Pittsburgh gang for sending this to the Cali gang!

Clear dark orange with a very small off-white head that only leaves minimal stick down the glass.

Very nice aroma, mainly focused on citrus and tropical notes, along with a mild hint of pine. I dig it.

Straightforward, though very tasty DIPA, with good amounts of tropical fruits and citrus butting up against a fairly high level of bitterness, along with just a hint of caramel malt backbone. Very nice.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Very nice, though, drinking "other" good D/IPAs just reminds me how good I have it everyday in San Diego.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 21:58:34 | More by ehammond1

msubulldog25

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Memorial Day 2012. A toast to soldiers & veterans for their service & sacrifice... 22 oz. bottle poured to my Adnams imperial pint glass after 3 hours of yardwork. I 'earned' it!

A 'Brewers Choice' beer (brew date was 4/26/12, according to Rifugium, who kindly sent this one); label depicts a grumpy-looking little cupid.

A: Shiny copper pour, quite clear with relatively little carbonation. Head almost 'white', kinda on the short side. It's creamy -yes- but can't quite reach a finger-high, then drops pretty quickly. A gauzy skim does hold well and the patchy lacing holds nicely.

S: Maybe I'm a little stuffed up from the weed-pulling and hedge-trimming, but this aroma really doesn't do much for me. There's citrus that skews sweeter and slightly tropical, maybe tangerine or pineapple. Strength is fine, although I really couldn't sense it until I stuck my nose right in the glass.

T: Early sips I found to be exceedingly bitter, but with gradual warming comes much more balance. Lots of sappy pine and pithy orange, grassy herbs and a certainly mineral tanginess to finish. Interwoven are a vague nutty doughiness and fairly strong caramel. The end result is on the dry side and the bitterness, as represented by the name, is a drawn-out conclusion.

M: Big and warming, without being 'hot'. A very smooth carbonation and coating mouthfeel. Hop oils coat my mouth and bitterness lasts an eternity. Damn.

O: I am (generally) not a huge 'hophead', though I can enjoy and appreciate hoppy beers when they are well-done. This is well-done. Gigantic flavors with adequate balance and a memorable finish. high-level bitterness in (D)IPAs is generally something I dislike, but I'm feeling this one today. I'm glad to have a chance to try this one - thank you, Derek!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 22:55:16 | More by msubulldog25

argock

Virginia

4.05/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz brown bottle into a Duvel tulip. No freshness date. Purchased at Wine Warehouse (Charlottesville, VA) for $7.99.

A: Very clear orange-amber with thick, rocky 2-finger beige head which sinks away quickly and leaves a few dots of lace around the glass.

S: A very herbal profile overall with plant shoots and onion aromas coupled with floral and tropical fruit mango and pineapple. The malt is pale with a touch of lighter crystal malt.

T: I liked the flavor with plenty of pineapple, pine, resin, and floral character. I thought that the oniony herbal qualities did get stronger through the bomber and did detract from the overall flavor profile. Very bitter throughout.

M: Smooth and very dry - the Williamsburg crew did a great job with the drinkability. Body is medium-full with relatively low carbonation.

O: Pretty good but not great DIPA with more herbal plant notes but still packs big flavor and bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 01:12:49 | More by argock

Pencible

Virginia

4.1/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: This poured a clear gold with moderate white head.
S: It smelled like grapefruit and pine, with some citrus and mango and apricot.
T: It tasted like strong bitter pine and citrus zest, with waxy hops and grapefruit and unripe apricot. It had a lasting clean and bitter aftertaste.
M: It was somewhat thick with moderate carbonation. Nice full body.
D: This beer had no balance. This hop bomb had a very bitter but complex profile, but no malt or other character. It had good body and well hidden alcohol, but it more of a sipper due to the bitterness. Not my favorite for the style, but impressive.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 18:54:30 | More by Pencible

Sean9689

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks, Alex. Bottle into Darkness tulip.

A - Poured a orange/amber color, off-white head, thin collar.

S - Tropical citrus sweetness, orange peel, grapefruit, light pine. A pretty even mix of bitter and sweet notes, very well-balanced and enjoyable.

T - Nice level of bitterness mixed with excellent citrus grapefruit, lemon peel, oranges, mango, and light malty sweetness in there as well. Obviously, way more bitter then sweet, but both are there and work nicely together.

M - Medium body, good carbonation, oily finish.

O - A very enjoyable DIPA that I was overly impressed with. After not even knowing about this beer before trying it, I would defiantly try and locate another bottle. Good stuff!

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2012 16:51:59 | More by Sean9689

Chaney

District of Columbia

4.7/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in a tulip.

A: It poured a beautiful, caramel-orange color, with a really dense, foamy, creamy white head that just didn't want to quit ticking.

S: Holy hell! I started to smell this thing before the cap even made it off. A huge floral bouquet with quite the citrus bite that slashed my nose to bits.

T: I think the fruit component will totally go unappreciated, and that's a damn shame, because THAT is the star here. This is sort of like an imperial version of Lagunitas' "Holiday Sucks." Yep... it tastes every bit that good.

M: It had very much the texture of pure honey, with the hop bite of some of the great West Coasters. However, I got more fruit lingering in place of bitterness on the finish. The lacing was splotchy.

O: I really dig both Alewerks' Pumpkin Ale and Bourbon Barrel Porter, but I believe firmly that this is their crowning achievement. I'm speechless...

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2012 03:55:50 | More by Chaney

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.68/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

650ml bottle.

It pours a clear amber with a foamy white head.

Luckily though it is decently old (for an IPA) the smell is still there. It is definitely hinting more malty though. There is some sweet tropical notes and some citrus rind. The malt is sweet smelling with some bread and caramel.

The flavor is nice. Good hop flavors with a biting bitterness, it has no shortness of that. But I think the hops could be a bit better, more of a slap of citrus. This one is more of a pine one which I like, but it isn't really complex. The malt isn't as prevalent in the flavor but leaves a bit of a balancing sweetness.

I have some chili john's cooking, this is going to be a perfect pair.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 00:05:17 | More by crossovert

merc7186

New York

4.23/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this beer poured from a bomber into a tulip glass.

A: Amber/Orangish Hue, Passes Some Light, White Head Ring, Some Lacing

S: Resin, Piney, Mild Oranges

T: Resin, Piney, Oranges

M: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Dry, Bitter

Overall, a really decent DIPA with a solid hoppy backbone, great drinking.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 00:35:34 | More by merc7186

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.68/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle poured into a you have to be kidding me how is this beer as good as it is and finally AleWerks has lived up the potential hinted at by beers like their BB Porter and Pumpkin Ale which were sort of good but not quite great.

So after 900+ reviews that are completely irrelevant and no one cares about I decided that Lawson's Double Sunshine was my favorite beer and worthy of being bumped up to a 5.0 across the board. My first impression upon smelling and tasting this was that this is 90% as good as that beer (and only 25% of that is homerism). Which is insane, because A+ hoppy beers from the Maryland, DC, Virginia area are unfortunately these days...rare.

Beer pours a nearly clear, dark copper with an off white head and it looks like a double IPA so whatever.

Aroma is damn near perfect. Dank and tropical, with pine and citrus hops, faint malt and stronger citrus rind. Boom.

Flavor isn't quite as perfect as the nose or as rich as Double Sunshine, but very juicy, sweaty, and heavy on tropical hops. Mildly bitter and trace amounts of alcohol for the ABV. Very similar to Double Sunshine in body and balance of hops to malt, though hop profile isn't a direct comp.

$6.99/22 oz bottle and available in Total Wine and Whole Foods? Alewerks, please make this again and soon, not next Valentine's Day (I've already looked into registering www.alewerksmakemorebittervalentinenoworelse.com).

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2012 07:06:46 | More by yourefragile

AgentMunky

Alabama

4.08/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into an Allagash cervoise glass.

A: Not much head. Very clear. Scattered head and lacing. Light gold/amber.

S: Citrusy hops. A bit vegetal/earthy (Simcoe?).

T/M: I was super-excited by this beer -- I love DIPAs and I love everything AleWerks has done recently -- and I was only slightly let down. A very tasty, accessible IPA. Lots of fruit, primarily ruby grapefruit, and a light, spicy-sparkly mouthfeel make it very easy to drink. Hops are obvious, astringent, spicy, pervasive, and delicious. The aftertaste is clean, slightly bitter, and pleasantly long/dry.

O: Incredibly well-balanced. This beer really grows on me and highlights the artistry of AleWerks. Highly recommended; would drink again.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2012 04:23:16 | More by AgentMunky