Serum - DuClaw Brewing Company

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.44/5  rDev -32%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5

12 oz bottle into a nonic pint glass.

A: Pours a cloudy dark copper color. The head is a one finger offwhite shade. Retention is pretty good given its alcohol content, and the lacing left behind is nice looking as well.

S: Malty. There's a lot of caramel, biscuit, and brown sugar in the malt backbone, weakly supported by some faint piny hops. Maybe there's a touch of weed here as well. DuClaw's typical yeast profile comes across less peppery and more...dare I say cardboard-like? Not sure about the age of this one, but I'm not impressed regardless.

T: Hops are very faint here, except perhaps a faint bitter bite on the finish. This one is very much a malty DIPA, and a sweet one as well. At first, there are a surprising amount of plum-like qualities, which will eventually give way to a sweet caramel midtaste. It finishes with only faint piny hops, a sensation badly overpowered by heavy-handed brown sugar and orange sweetness. Good gawd, this is sweet, even cloying; and it can NOT get away with it the way Misery did.

M: The body is really creamy, thick, and syrupy. As a barleywine, the texture works well - but this is a DIPA, so it's just overbearingly difficult to sip (for the record, I don't like most malty DIPAs). The hops cleanse the palate only enough to expose some boozy qualities, without really hiding much of the sweetness or giving the body extra drinkability.

O: A poor DIPA; a passable barleywine/strong ale. I'll be fair to it - the flavor profile screams "badly aged DIPA" to me. It's not drainpour bad, but it's going to take a long time to put this one down. It's just WAY too sweet for my tastes.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 00:26:33 | More by ThisWangsChung

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-20-2013 16:14:13 | More by InspectorBob

Chugga06

West Virginia

3/5  rDev -16.4%

05-18-2013 12:20:10 | More by Chugga06

earlholman

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%

05-14-2013 13:38:56 | More by earlholman

Rhettroactive

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -9.5%

05-11-2013 00:00:04 | More by Rhettroactive

dapatte2

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-10-2013 01:45:22 | More by dapatte2

Boone757

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

05-07-2013 21:24:54 | More by Boone757

Sludgeman

District of Columbia

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-04-2013 01:43:29 | More by Sludgeman

DRBiser

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-02-2013 22:14:25 | More by DRBiser

BogBoyJD

Ireland

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

05-01-2013 22:09:40 | More by BogBoyJD

bootdown21

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -9.5%

05-01-2013 13:34:36 | More by bootdown21

hopstermonster1

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

04-26-2013 23:10:06 | More by hopstermonster1

ShanePB

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -16.4%

04-25-2013 13:41:52 | More by ShanePB

beerthulhu

New Jersey

2.53/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Cadmium orange, light and lazy movement of effervesce. Butff colored head, patchy, dissipates almost immediately with minimal lacing.

S: Straw and dry toasted grain, very faint upport with an even more bare minimal, underpar hop profile of muted, undefinable content.

T: Some malt support, old lemony hops, stale grapefruit with a bit of metallic ting. Washed out toasted maltiness, some dry hop appeal but seems warming, like old lemon citrus hop juice, homogenized. Ok level of bitternes for a entry level ipa, just not for a 2x label.

M: Light end of medium body, oily stale citrus juice ends with a watery toasted malting. Warming, but very managable for its 9.0%abv and hardly gets in the way.

O: Overall old stale citrus, a big dissapointment, no bottling info so hard to verify age, but it tastes old and stale hop and malt wise. Boring flavor profile, with a lost of interest halfway through the consumption. Unimpressive and forced finish.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 01:07:16 | More by beerthulhu

HoppySailor

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -9.5%

04-21-2013 21:27:44 | More by HoppySailor

Hockey_Fan

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

04-18-2013 00:29:26 | More by Hockey_Fan

duceswild

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

04-16-2013 14:12:14 | More by duceswild

BobsledTM

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

04-14-2013 00:24:43 | More by BobsledTM

y2jrock60

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Dark orange with a two finger head that leaves moderate lacing.

S- Very sweet aroma with hints of piney hops. The malt or more prevalent in the nose than the hops.

T- Very sweet upfront, very similar to their Venom PA. The hops make an appearance at the end but are overwhelmed by the malt sweetness. You don't get hop flavors, just their bitterness. There is a slight presence of alcohol which undermines the bitterness as well.

M- Medium-thick bodied, almost syrup like, with a moderate-low amount of carbonation.

O- Very similar to their Venom PA, almost too overly sweet for my liking. The hops are an afterthought with this beer, I actually perceive more hop flavor and bitterness from the Venom PA. I understand the alcohol plays a part in the profile, but Dogfish Head and Breckenridge are able to bring them through in their doubles.

Serving type: on-tap

04-13-2013 22:32:47 | More by y2jrock60

TomG2751

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

04-11-2013 16:42:25 | More by TomG2751

Hophead420

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

04-11-2013 06:06:56 | More by Hophead420

whatname

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

03-25-2013 00:45:04 | More by whatname

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

This beer looks great off the pour. Great amber hue with a nice head. Flavor profile is thick with malts and what seems like a minimal amount of hop character. Could definitely use some more punch. Feel is quick smooth and slick. But considering the style, and what all else is out there in this style, this is nothing overly interesting.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 04:17:54 | More by RblWthACoz

DrunkinYogi

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

03-17-2013 16:51:20 | More by DrunkinYogi

Moofmac25

Maryland

3/5  rDev -16.4%

03-15-2013 01:54:30 | More by Moofmac25