Dorado Double IPA - Ballast Point Brewing Company

Matthew

Connecticut

4.4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle sent to me by my sister who was on vacation in San Diego.
Pours a hazy golden/light yellowy orange color. Nice solid 1/4 inch of soapy white head with a good amount of spotty lacing around the glass.
Lots of fruity hops seem to rise right out of my glass and fill my nose with a array of potent citrus fruit rind along side a nice sweet almost candy like maltiness. Pineapple, grapefruit, orange round out the hoppy nose. The citrus character is certainly best described as rind because the character in the hop aroma isn't quite as sweet smelling as the meat of fruit but rather hints at more bitter maybe less ripened fruit character.
Nice big hop taste immediately upon my first sip, the bitter and fruity taste reminds me more of the grapefruity character found in the nose but as the the sweet malt starts to come into play a bit more closer to the dry finish a more pineapple like hoppy note becomes more apparent. The 9.2 abv is a fairly big but not as large a characteristic as I expected it to be. This beer has a nice smooth texture with a medium to low amount of carbonation. The complex long lasting array of fresh crisp fruity, oily, and slighty spiced hops that leads into a nice fairly pronounced (considering the big hoppiness) sweet malt does a pretty good job at subduing the 9.2abv. This is a very tasty and pretty easy to drink DIPA. It presents a nice bouquet of hop flavor and leaves you wanting more.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2007 23:35:57 | More by Matthew

flexabull

California

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy dark orange color with a decent looking head.

Aromas are of grapefruit and sweet hard candies. This beer smells great.

Beer has a really dry and crisp character. It's slightly sweet, a bit sour, and tart. The finish is bitter like grapefruit, crisp and with a touch of alcohol. This is a big beer! Lots of flavors.

Mouthfeel is quite good, this beer has a very bright and well rounded feel to it.

Drinkability is good. I think that I just barely prefer the Big Eye IPA to this one, but this is still a very solid DIPA from Ballast Point. Yet another excellent San Diego beer.

I received a couple of bottles of this thanks to Intriqken and metallitone1 in the B'day 07 BIF.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2007 04:51:40 | More by flexabull

merlin48

Kentucky

4.45/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber thanks to srandycarter. Pours a chill hazed orange amber body topped by a creamy medium sized, offwhite head. Good retention and plenty of clingy patch lacing.

Aroma is a melange of hops. Grassy, pine, and citrusy orange and tangerine. Subtle caramel notes underneath.

Medium body with lively carbonation.

Taste has a solid caramel malt backbone which supports a strong assault of citrusy and tropical fruits. Very well balanced with a subtle malt sweetness that doesn't intrude. Pink grapefruit and orange notes seem bathed in caramel. Assertive citrus rind bitterness envelopes the finish and aftertaste. Very nice!

Not as hopcentric as the other big California IPA's I've tried recently but typical of the style. Very nice balance in this one which enables it to stand as one of the finer DIPA's I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2007 12:50:36 | More by merlin48

WeisGuy

New York

4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to metallitone1 for this bottle.

a - pours a a deep copper color, big billowing ivory head with great retention and lacing, some sediment

s - big pine and citrus aroma, lots of tropical fruits, passionfruit, tangerine, slight hint of a malt backbone, slight biscuity aroma, some alcohol

t - sweetness right at the start but it quickly evolves into an aggressive hop bitterness, lots of pine, citrus, orange, the finish has notes of alcohol and a lingering bitterness, hints of tropical fruits on the tail of the long finish

m - medium bodied, moderate carbonation, very dry finish

d - super dry finish and intense bitterness limits drinkability somewhat, but a bomber is a great amount

Very nice DIPA for my tastes, pretty much a hop bomb, but not ridiculously unbalanced. Definitely worth seeking out a bomber or two.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2007 00:55:49 | More by WeisGuy

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled February 2007
Pours easily with a three-finger thick, frothy, amber tinged tan colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear, rich, light reddish copper color. Loud fruity hop notes seem as if I just cut into a fresh sweet tangelo with the peel releasing its vibrantly fresh essential oils. The pure citrus essence that the aroma captures is quite amazing, I don't think I have ever smelled such a distinctively citrus character in a beers aroma before. It makes the aroma a bit one dimensional, but the fruity citrus notes are so vibrant that I don' t mind at all.

The taste is fairly sweet up front and the citrus character is immediately noticeable. Again it is like this beer has had the essential oils from a mix of tangelos, sweet oranges, and ruby red grapefruit all put in a concentrated form into this beer. Even the bitterness seems to be infused with this over arching citrus character. The bitterness is actually fairly light for an IPA, instead Ballast Point seems to have focused much more on infusing the flavor and aromatics from the hops they used. This is a trend that I have certainly enjoyed, I do like bracing bitterness too, but don't always need it even in my Double IPA's, assuming of course that the beer is still stuffed full of hop character. This beer is certainly hop dominated, the malt that is here only plays a supporting role as it is very hard to detect specifics under the hop character. The hop character is so smooth and without any sort of astringency or hard / sharp edges. This beer hides its alcohol content pretty well. It has certain heft to the bottle, but I was expecting a bit more of a substantial body in a beer of this strength. I am glad that it is relatively light, as this is how I like a beer that has IPA somewhere on the label (if it is chewy it should be a barleywine).

Quite enjoyable, I wonder what other brews are going to be released under this robust limited release label. This is not the most complex beer, but it easily defines purely hop driven enjoyment in a glass and for that I am quite happy. Initially this beer was only lightly chilled, as it cooled more in my bucket of ice it picked up some sharp hop edges and a bit more hop bitterness. I think I prefer this only lightly chilled as it is much smoother, though a touch less complex.

Purchased: Park Lane Liquor, Lancaster CA

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2007 06:03:52 | More by Gueuzedude

bjohnson

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to boolshot for the chance to try this hop bomb from the west.

Pours a hazy peachish color with a frothy one finger frizzy white head. Nice thick retention hugs the sides of the glass with a bit of foam skim on top. Fine cream colored lacing left on the glass. Nose full of pine and grapefruit hops. Thick and sticky. Biscuity and toasted grain malt profile rounds out the aromas. Alcoholic spiciness is also present and stings the sensitive parts of the nostrils a bit.

Grapefruit, melon, orange peel, and lemon rind fruit notes all give the taste buds a run for their money. Squeezed pine needs drip pine hop juice on the tongue. Orange peel and grapefruit flavors stay with you into the finish and the aftertaste. Malt profile lends itself well to this brew balancing out the malts. Biscuity, toasted grain, and sweet caramel malts are all detected. Nice long grapefruit laced dry bitterness runs into the finish. Medium to thick body on the palate.

Pretty damn drinkable considering the high abv of almost ten percent. Juicy and resiny lends to the thickness and masks the hotness this brew could potentially deliver. A very nice tasting and quite easy drinking dpa from the west coast. Glad I had the chance to try it--Cheers Jason!

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2007 01:29:56 | More by bjohnson

OStrungT

California

4.35/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a golden brownish color with a light tan head. The thick creamy head fades very slowly, leaving many laces.

This beer has a strong grassy hop aroma. It also smells piney. It has a citrus hop aroma as well. It smells quite sweet, with a nice malty balance. Grapefruit is noticable also.

This beer tastes much like it smells. Quite hoppy. Piney up front, with some grass and citrus hop flavor. This beer is also very sweet. It is well balanced.

This beer goes down smooth, leaving a piney hop aftertaste. Carbonation is great. This beer is quite full bodied.

I am not sure if this beer would be the best session beer. It is high in alcohol, and it has an aggressive flavor. It might be a bit much.

Overall: I liked this beer, but I dont like spending $7.00 for a 22 oz at the brewery. That seems a bit excessive.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2007 02:58:46 | More by OStrungT

GClarkage

California

4.15/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

10/21/06- Purchased at Ledgers Liquors in Berkeley, CA.

Presentation- 22oz bomber with no freshness info. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

Appearance- Semi-clouded amber-orange pour. 1/2 inch and tight knit bubbled head. Light spotted and streak lace left behind.

Smell- Grapefruit laden hopfest. Nice strong bitter fumes. In addition there is a nice roasted malted backing.

Taste- Sweeter malty base with a light burnt flavor hoovering in the background. It interacts very well with the sugary grapefruit and light pine flavored hops.

Mouthfeel- Thick and chewy, maybe even sinewy. Mild lasting bitter aftertaste with the perfect level of carbonation.

Drinkability- Couldn't even detect the 9% abv. Very very drinkable. Definite two thumbs up and one of the better DIPA's from CA.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2007 17:28:39 | More by GClarkage

sleazo

New York

3.9/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap porters pub after class.

Medium golden yellow. Small head disapears quickly. Smell is intense hops grassy pine cones. Taste is right up front with the pine cones. Resiny aftertaste. Some sweetness from the alcohol comes through. I would like a little more malt. This is a hop bomb though. D is good. I could drink a few of these. Typical west coast 2xipa. Not much depth but a hop bomb which I like. there are much better 2xipas in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2007 03:45:21 | More by sleazo

ChazMania

California

4.72/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber-

A- very amber/orange hue. slightly cloudy, decent 1 finger head.

S- Floral with great notes of juniper and grapefruit.

T- fantastic. Has all that great double IPA kick and flare that offers big hoppy juiceness with some mandarin orange and grapefruit flavors.

M- creamy and thick. Big texture.

D- Great DIPA offering. I have had nearly 10 of these the past few months and it is very consistent.

Me Likey.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2007 02:31:25 | More by ChazMania

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A 22 oz bomber from a trade with boolshot.

A: The DIPA is a brilliant amber orange color that showcases a thick billowy head that laces extensively in the glass.

S: The ale has a crisp hoppy aroma, thick with piney and citrusy oils. This is the type of beer that you could sit and sniff for several hours.

T: The body of the ale screams hops. The oily thick vine resonates through the ale, providing s a strong piney resin element that outshines all other varietals. As the pine subsides, some apricot and tangerine citrus elements emerge, sustaining an entirely different component of the ale.

M: The mouthfeel is thick and juicy hops, flavorful without dulling the tastebuds.

D: This is an excellent, well-balanced DIPA, showcasing a strong hop body that never overwhelms the mouth. I really enjoy the piney finish, it nicely sums up the ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2007 01:55:09 | More by akorsak

IntriqKen

California

3.63/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Nice glowing crystal clear amber with a massive sticky white head that melts to very heavy lacing.
Aromas are only lightly sweet malt if you look for it. Most of it is all about the hops...very fresh, piney, citrus hops. A little of pink grapefruit in the nose.
Flavor is again, all about the hops. A little sweet amber malts and candy sugar, then massive amounts of very fresh citrus hops.
Mouth is left dry but with sugars still struggling with the grapefruit hops.
For me there are better DIPA's, but that is just my tastes. This one tastes unbalanced and raw...as if fresh hops are used on top of mediocre, malt extract.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2007 04:05:10 | More by IntriqKen

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.63/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer is exactly what I'm looking for when I want a nice, hoppy west coast dipa. A treat. Pours a hazy dark golden with an offwhite pancake head. Good lacing. The aroma is lightly fruity with some apricot and a very lightly bitter smells. The taste has deep layered hop flavors with a solid malt background. A hop attack of pine, grapefruit, and spice. Fantastic! The mouthfeel is slightly grainy, but substantial and a great platform for all the hops. The alcohol is well hidden. Great drinkability, would be perfect if it were slightly lighter in body.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2007 21:03:48 | More by Georgiabeer

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours clear copper with a half inch white head.
The dense foam recedes within two minutes and reveals a partial skim coat on the surface and some decent lacework.
Aromatics are pungent, piney, and citrusy. Notes of wet hay and juniper add some earthy zest, along with spruce sap and grapefruit pith. Alcohol is evident with a trace of fusels intermingeling with spiked orange skins and grapeskins.
Mouthfeel is dry, crisp, and mildly stinging from assertive bitterness.
The pallet is juicy and piney, heavy on the pink grapefruit and orange pith. Conifer sap from the bough, with alcohol steeped dried fruits. Bitterness is substantial and borderline astringent, lingering as lengthy as the warming alcohol.
Finishes almost hot, with jowel-watering bitterness and tongue-gripping alphas.
A great beer, but I think a fresher example would boost the numbers.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2007 01:26:58 | More by brewandbbq

drewbage

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into my nice new tulip glass. (Things getting a hell of a workout right now.)

Generally a stellar beer on tap, I'm surprised to see this beer running a very hazy pale orange from the bottle. Very few white bubbles that cling to the side. Nice stream of fine bubbles coming off the bottom.

Aroma is big and piney with a catty twist to it. Grassy end tones from a dry hop addition to the brew.

Flavor is a nice potent bright bitterness that really obscures any side glance at a malt profile. Seriously... mm.. piney, hops, bitter, bite, and hmm.. when I belch.. hops.

I still prefer the beer on tap, but hey.. it works any which way.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2007 07:54:05 | More by drewbage

uberabr

California

4.8/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip. A hazy yellow-amber with moderate head and solid lacing. You can see the hop oil up top. Smell is very enjoyable and full of delicate complexities: an abundance of hops, lemon and grapefruit, some peachy guava fruityness, floral bouquets, a hint of honey, peppers and spice, with a strong biscuit backbone. Unbelievable!

Taste is very unique for this style without being overdone or outrageous. Sophisticated! Very nice. It's got the definite pine hop bite you look for, with a nice bitter finish, but not too bitter...a refreshing fruity melon with a hint of sour grapefruit, along with a warming, buttery bread quality. Very buttery. Very drinkable. Very well done. I can't taste the alcohol at all.

My burps actually taste like hops and smell like grapefruit. Mouthfeel is great. Full and bubbly. It's a little expensive, but one of the best beers I've tried in a while...which says a lot. Definitely as good if not better than the infamous Drednaught- my standard for DIPA's- which is good because this one's a little easier to find in Cali. I'm sure all the hops in this are expensive, but find a way to lower the price to 3.99 or less per bomber (Lagunitas style) and make it a year-round release, and you've got my new favorite beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2007 06:16:45 | More by uberabr

Zorro

California

4.88/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

There is a hell of a big wad of sediment in the bottom of this bottle so I pour this very carefully.

I am rewarded with a Dreadnaught clone; hazy peachy amber colored beer with a good white head.

Smell is as I hoped; in fact an enormous and complex bouquet of hop aromas. Scents of pine, pineapple, guava, menthol, eucalyptus, willow tree, citrus, peaches and 10 other things I can't name. The scent is among the top three Mega IPA beers.

Taste begins sweet and fruity with a giant taste of guava and melon in the first sip; there is a pleasant lingering slightly green banana aftertaste to this. Big tropical fruit flavors just jump out at you from this just like the two big Russian River Beers and the Three Floyds Dreadnaught. The traditional big hop tastes of pine and grapefruit are minimized in this beer and allow every other flavor that hops can be to really shine. A truly superior Super IPA class beer.

Mouthfeel is good.

This is get you in "big trouble easy" drinkable. TASTY is the only word that applies here and this is just about liquid hop sex in a bottle. This is in the same class as the top three Super IPAs in the world and might just be the best.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2007 05:46:26 | More by Zorro

Scorpious

California

5/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This beer is burnt-orange/sunset amber in color. It has slight fruity undertones. When poured the beer has no head, with slight bubbles an intoxicating swirl pattern in the glass. All of this leads to nice legs in the glass and smooth viscoity...

The taste is very clean, very refreshing and very good. (Still need to drink another bottle in a few months and see if the taste improves like I hope/plan it will)

The beer itself has a very light mellow mouthfeel, with a crisp, intial hoppiness in the beginning with a nice smooth finish.


With a 9.1% ABV this beer is still very smooth and satisfying.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2007 03:48:18 | More by Scorpious

RidiculedDisplay

California

4.18/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into an oversized wine glass.

Appearance: Pours with a half-finger head, settling into a quarter-finger or so hugging to the rim of the glass. Lacing is fizzy, with some spots - a little above average. Body color is like a slightly less luminous Dreadnaught, which is to say that it is a very pretty sap-like amber with some hints of gold. Not a very "loud" beer in the sense that it doesn't produce much noise upon pouring.

Smell: Sweet honey-like grapefruit, orange, with a pine backbone. Some cantaloupe-like aroma coming from the hops. A little sweeter of an aroma than I'm used to with San Diego DIPA's, like very fresh fruit. Sweet corn-like malt presence. Overall, a somewhat archetypal SDDIPA.

Taste: Mm. Big melon, grapefruit, and pine aromas are much more prevalent in the taste than the aroma, it seems. Again, there's that sweetness coming through. The swallow leaves this sticky candied-sugar like sweet sensation on the edge of the tongue. Some ever-so-faint woodiness, earthiness marrying with the alcohol quite nicely. That being said, I gllance at the bottle and notice it says 9.1% ABV. Really? Practically nowhere to be found. Absolutely excellent. Watch out, though, that monster ABV will (and does) sneak up on you.

Mouthfeel: A little undercarbonated, quite frankly. I will have to try another bottle to see if that will rectify the problem, because when I glanced at mine before opening, it looked like it might be slightly flat. Otherwise, your typical oily DIPA affair. Not much alcohol presence, as I've said.

Drinkability: This is an excellent DIPA. Huge and yet completely quaffable. I think this is, perhaps, the best alcohol-masking done in any DIPA I've ever tasted, if that's any testament to this beer's excellent craftsmanship. Well done, and way better than the bleh Yellowtail Pale Ale I didn't even bother to review. ; )

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2007 01:26:30 | More by RidiculedDisplay

UnionMade

Colorado

4.05/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to XLPerro!
Clear copper, toped with a wispy white head. Smells of big, juicy, citrusy hops and toasty malt. Some apple and pear, but most of the fruitiness comes from the hops. No alcohol. Big flavor, with good balance. The hops come through early, with robust bitterness, with enough toasty malt sweetness. Some barleywine aspects, particularly with the malt bill. Hops maintain dominance, but I'd say its particularly well balanced for a big beer. Pretty clean, allowing the hops and grain the full spectrum without much interference. Lots of orangey citrus. Slight pruney fruitiness. Moderate carbonation. Big body, with a fairly mellow mouthfeel. Not insanely complex, but still awesome. Big, bold and excellent, I'd love to have this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2007 10:40:45 | More by UnionMade

Imstillthegman

Delaware

4.33/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks go out to BeerRun13, my Secret Santa 2006, for this much anticipated bomber.

Dorado pours a brilliantly clear golden orange color with a fingers width off-white head. Nice lacing rings my glass.

The nose is a nice combination of sweet malts and citrusy hops. Caramel, grapefruit, orange, and a spicy scent I can't quite peg.

The flavor is hoppier than the aroma. Nicely bitter, spicy citrus hops don't let the caramel malts shine though too much, but I do taste them at the beginning.

Medium body with a dry, bitter finish. Nice hoppy aftertaste has me longing for the next sip. This is good. Another solid brew from Ballast Point...how I wish we could get them over on this coast. Santa did get my letter after all. Thanks Jason...oops, I mean Santa.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2007 17:45:36 | More by Imstillthegman

ReebShorts

Washington

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Westmalle chalice. As I was pouring it i realized I shoud have used a different glass, but I was excited for beer and forgot, thus this poured with very little head.

Appearance is light, almost neon orange.

Hops are right up front on the nose as should be for a double IPA, also picked up on tangereine, orange, and something i just can't quite place.

Ok, this is different, not bad just very different from other Double IPA's I've had. I wasn't expecting that wash of citrus fruit flavor. The hops although very present on the nose, take a back seat to this woody fruitiness. Maybe this is done to create some balance, which it indeed does, however when I reach for a double IPA i'm looking for something heavier in the hop department. That said, this is tasty.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2007 07:38:08 | More by ReebShorts

Wasatch

Utah

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to WestSideThreat for this one.

Pours a cloudy deep orange color, nice carbonation, nice small foamy off-white head, some islands and sticky lacing afterwards. The nose is of sweet malts, hops, citrus, spices, and caramel. The taste is nicely bitter/hoppy, sweet kinda honey like, with a slightly dry finish. Medium body, well rounded brew. Very drinkable, my first Ballast Point, but not my last, I have a few of their other offerings. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2006 21:52:11 | More by Wasatch

dhchatfield

Illinois

4.55/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Received in trade from BeerRun13. Thanks. Poured into my Duvel tulip after a loooong 12 hour day.

A - A hazy ruby/golden. Decent head burnt off fairly quickly, after an aggressive pour. Moderate lacing.

S - BAM..In your face monster piney, unripe grapefruit hoppiness. Something else at the edge that I can't quite describe....juniper? spruce?

T - Bitch-slap hop attack!! Bitter, coniferous, tangy....et al. A remarkably unique flavor. Leaves an orange peel finish. Very aggressive. Faintly reminiscent of the Maharaja (on crack).

M - Ouch! Major league taste bud abuse. (not that that's a bad thing) I wish I had more than one to condition my senses with. Strong alcohol presence. Again an extraordinary citrus finish.

D - As mentioned above, this one will take some getting used to. As I recently discovered with HopSlam, another "aggressive" DIPA, I think more than one will be necessary to fairly review this beers' drinkabilty. I'm working a trade for more, so hopefully I'll be able to prove the theory.

A very potent, take no prisoners West Coast DIPA. Pefect for the hopivore that I am. Nice....

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2006 03:51:49 | More by dhchatfield

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.55/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

The orange colored body is topped off with a thick crop of ivory white froth. The retention is very good and its lacing ability even better. Great aroma. Big on the pine oils. Sap oils. Hop oils. Etc... It's a sharp aroma with a perfumey aspect to it. On the buds this one has got that same oily character to it. And I love it. I love that aspect of hops. And it's resinous and very piney. The malts make their presence known in a good way. They provide a very sturdy caramel-like, toffeeish backbone. This DIPA tastes unlike any other that I've had. It's very distinctive and unique...and addictive. The mouthfeel is exceptional. Velvety and creamy. Just flows... Alcohol is not noticeable. Lingering bitterness is not intrusive or abrasive, just enjoyable in its simplicity. This is quite enjoyable. It's the kind of beer that really grows on my the more I drink it and I know I'll be craving more after this bomber is all gone.

Many thanks to the Bum of Long Beach for yet another great West Coast Hop Bomb.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2006 04:51:18 | More by Bighuge