Double Take IPA - World Brews

kojevergas

California

2.38/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with uninteresting label art and standard branded blue pressure cap acquired as part of a variety 12 pack at my local Vons grocery yesterday and served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are low given the brewery - which is known for its discount approach to beer. 6.9% ABV confirmed. No freshness date.

Served cold, straight from the fridge. Side-poured with extra vigor as carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a three finger white colour head with thin horrid lacing, okay thickness, an underwhelming lack of cream, and above average (3 minute) retention. Body colour is a clear pale yellow-copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Not great for the style, but passable.

Sm: Mild floral hop character. Pale malts. A vague hint of lime? Off-putting detergent. Caramel. An average strength aroma; not an appealing one for the style. It isn't terrible, but it isn't bringing much to the table in terms of hop character and the balance between hops and malts seems questionable. Still, it's not bland or boring. Maybe some light salt? IPAs shouldn't be gose-esque. No yeast or alcohol is detectable.

T: Soapy detergent - this spent too long in primary. Generic floral hop character. It does have some freshness to it though. Way too sweet across the board. The malt side of things is disappointing; generic pale malts lack any depth or interesting features. No graininess or grassiness, no crisp refreshing body, nothing. Maybe some lime; it's hard to find one off-flavour beneath the already present off-notes of detergent. Poorly balanced and built - especially for the style. I'm not a big fan of this one. Some naked hop bitterness even manages to creep in about the climax; this is the cardinal sin of an IPA but I'm shocked a beer so otherwise devoid of hoppy notes manages to sneak in some biting bitterness.

Mf: Nicely smooth, soft and wet. Overcarbonated. Poor presence on the palate. Okay thickness. The mouthfeel is the best feature of this beer, but that isn't saying much. Coarsens somewhat in the late second act to its detriment. Doesn't suit the flavour profile well, but it's not horrible for the style.

Dr: Hides its ABV decently. It's not even an average example of the style, but I don't think its awful. Style aside, it's still not good but it's okay. I definitely wouldn't pick it up again, but I can appreciate the need for this type of beer in the marketplace; there's value here. I do think it's better than other budget attempts at the style; it's preferable as an IPA to say, Kirkland Signature's example. At least this attempts a hoppy profile. Wouldn't recommend this to friends, but I think many are being harsher on it than they would be in a blind taste testing merely because of the brewery. The sweetness does severely limit drinkability for me; I wouldn't want more than one (scratch that, half) of one of these in a night.

D+

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 04:19:05 | More by kojevergas

olilitewu

Arizona

2.24/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

bought from supermarket, served cold and straight from bottle
the smell was deceivingly good w/ hoppy aroma, but not much else
Though really bitter on the palate, the bitterness did not seem hoppy, rather, just a pure caramel taste with way too much alcoholic undertone. Did not agree with the excessive sweetness other reviewers noted. If anything else, there was a slight hint of dried orange peel.
Despite the lack of taste, I must say, however, its drinkability was decent, and went down quite easily.
Added a few overall points due to affordability and alcoholic content :p

Verdict: will purchase again when cash-strapped and still wanted an IPA. But if I want anything with taste, forget it.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 09:22:40 | More by olilitewu

Whiteblack88

California

1.35/5  rDev -48.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

I bought this beer because it was cheap but had the appearance of a good craft beer and I thought it was going to be ipa; In retrospect I should have just paid two more dollars for something decent. I bought a six pack and had to force myself to finish it, which for me is almost unheard of. It's like drinking maple syrup with with pennies and dingleberries in it. Do yourself a favor and pay one or two extra dollars and buy a Stone or Union Jack.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 08:00:23 | More by Whiteblack88

TheMarkE

California

3.09/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Appearance: Attractive pale copper with generous foam.

Smell: Bitter with underwhelming hints of citrus and herbs.

Taste: Sweet and bitter, but not so much in a good way like you may find in a better quality IPA. Or even an average IPA. If you search really hard, you can find the citrus and pine hops but it may take a while.

Mouthfeel: Foamy, creamy, and very bitter. Did I just swallow a penny?

The Verdict: Meh. It’s drinkable, it’s cheap, and it hides the 6.9% ABV well, but that is the full extent of it’s good qualities. This is from the same company that makes many generic beers with names like Cable Car, Tap Room No. 21, RJ King Wingwalker, and Barrel Trolley masquerading as craft brews.

Would I buy it again? If I were broke (which is often), it was on sale, and I was hankering for something that didn’t have the name “Bud” on the label… maybe.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 21:59:17 | More by TheMarkE

BaronRogue

California

1.93/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

It's interesting that they listed the supposed "ingredients" on the bottle - pale and crystal malts, chinook, columbus etc hops... none of which are present in any detectable amounts. What we're left with is a syrupy travesty of a beer.

Looks decent enough, deep gold with a fizzy head, but the smell is the first red flag - soy sauce and syrup are the first things that come to mind.

The taste is a bit like a handful of old pennies soaked in lemon lime soda, almost undrinkable if you're used to anything resinous. Cough syrup, grassy bovril... just awful. The aftertaste is somewhat pleasant (if you were drinking a soda), but really does feel like a beer gone horribly awry.

Lies alright on the tongue, almost wish it was less crisp so that it lost some of its soda-esque characteristics.

Overall it's a mistake to buy it at any price, but at a dollar a bottle I suppose I don't feel entirely cheated. I really wouldnt even call this an IPA - more like some sort of extract brew from the underworld.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 03:13:07 | More by BaronRogue

andreas

2.49/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Please excuse my lack of reviewing knowledge, I just wanted to supplement PoorYorick's review, I too received a bad batch of this beer. I bought three 6 packs at a Safeway store in San Francisco because they were only 5$ each and two of them were DISGUSTINGLY sweet. Absolute garbage. One of the six packs, though, was decent and tasted like a somewhat decent IPA. Nothing to write home about.

Pooryorick- Im curous where you bought your beer, and I'm glad to see someone else had the same problem as me. I contacted the manufacturer to notify them of the issue.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 06:24:30 | More by andreas

PoorYorick

1.6/5  rDev -39.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75

Double take? More like spit-take! Reading the other reviews makes me wonder if a bad batch got out. It is horribly sweet, even for someone who likes sweet, strong barley wines. It has a chemical smell to it, too. Has a bad metallic after taste. Bottom line: there are so many other, much better beers out there and life is too short. When you see this on the shelf, walk on by.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 05:21:27 | More by PoorYorick

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.48/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Safeway's new sucker lineup, yield a normal looking yellow and orange beer, white head, average looking stuff. Lacks dry hop aroma, lacks much in the way of hop aroma.

Taste, just put some copper pennies in a homebrewed pale ale, why use hops for flavoring when you can just do this? This beer is all about the bitterness. There is no subtlety, just bitterness. I'd really only recommend this if you want to make it look like you drink craft beer. Its like if AB made a platinum regular bud, and dry hopped it with thousands of pennies. I wonder if tweekers would try and strip this beer of copper wiring? Oh, I forgot to mention they probably also use some aspirin to dry hop with as well.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 15:46:48 | More by Beerandraiderfan

jsprain1

Minnesota

2.53/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

A- Copper-orange with a big white head that lasts quite well, but leaves virtually no lacing.
S- The aroma is astringent bitterness. There is a touch of herbal hops, but it is just kind of meh bitterness on the nose.
T- There is a pleasant touch of hops up front, with herbal and orange flavors. They do a good job of focusing on the bitter aspects of an IPA. That said, there is not enough hop flavor for the amount of generic bitterness in the beer.
M- It is overcarbed and has a bit of a foamy mouthfeel that is not altogether pleasing.
O- This was an ok beer, but it was too bitter for how minimal the flavoring was.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 02:25:21 | More by jsprain1

Irishthirst

Illinois

1.73/5  rDev -34.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Purchased this beer from a Dominick's this weekend for 5.99 a 6 pack. I rarely go to Dominick's but was intrigued by the low price for an IPA. Had I known it was the same brewery as Wingwalker from Jewel grocery and Big Flats 1901 from Walgreens, I would have avoided.

Appearance: A rust-colored look that is a bit paler from finer varieties of its genre. I did have some serious clinging and lacing that looked like a jacuzzi at the Holiday Inn.

Smell: It has faint citrus and floral overtones but not overwhelming. It definitely smell of alcohol.

Taste: My first drink was the best, all downhill after that. It tastes like a very bitter IPA with strong lingering alcohol long thereafter. I feel like this is the moonshine of IPAs.

Overall: I will not be buying this again. I can still fell the burning in the back of my throat. Not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 03:54:57 | More by Irishthirst

matjack85

Illinois

2.08/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Yet another World Brew's product. Maybe they'll finally get one right as all my previous experiences with their beers have not been good. I can only hope. 12oz brown bottle with no freshness date.

The beer poured a mostly clear golden/copper color with a 1-finger white head that almost lasted a minute. Lots of small spotty lacing on the glass.

While there was a piny hop smell to this, there was also a noticeable amount of unpleasant alcohol.

Ugh! This stuff is awful. While it has some piny hop flavor to it (and not much else), it's the overwhelming alcoholic taste that ruins it for me. It's nearly devoid of malt and the hop strain they used isn't that tasty either. A poor example of an IPA.

The mouthfeel is actually not bad. It's smooth (almost creamy) with moderate carbonation. But again, the alcohol is everywhere.

No matter how cheap it is, if you have to force it down or spit it out, it's not worth it.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 07:49:47 | More by matjack85

kflorence

California

3.15/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours copper with golden tints. Plenty of thick, creamy head atop. Lots of lacing. All signs point to good.

S: Smells quite good. Lots of citrus and plenty of malts. The aroma hints at a more balanced IPA. Some pine resin. My cold is hindering the more subtle notes.

T: Malts up front followed by a bitter, grass and lemon hop flavor that just seems a bit off. Very bitter on the finish. It's just not melding right for me, but it isn't entirely unpleasant either.

M: Medium bodied, but definitely light for an IPA. Body is actually pretty decent with a bit of cream and chewiness, though still a bit watery. This one is definitely sessionable, though I wouldn't go as far as to call it refreshing.

O: I was a bit disappointed with this one. On the pour and on the nose, it had me going, but the flavor seemed a bit off. I probably would not seek this one out again, however, at $6.99 for a six pack you could do far worse.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 04:03:21 | More by kflorence

aval89

Arizona

3.68/5  rDev +39.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: poured a shade or 2 darker than a golden orange. nice 2 finger head, eggshell colored with tight bubbles. leaves a decent lace.

s: good balance of toasty malts & pine hops. some leafiness as well as some toffee notes.

t: upfront i got toffee notes, then some piney/leafy hop flavors. in the finish i got a minty-like taste along with some toasty malts. also has a strange flavor that lingers, but nothing that puts off the beer for me.

mf: its got a solid medium body. carbonation is on the lower end with a smooth, slightly creamy feel.

o: it wasn't undrinkable like i expected and it was surprisingly decent. nothing spectacular, but it was well worth the $6.99/6pack price and the 6.9% abv.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 09:28:35 | More by aval89

HalfFull

California

2.68/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle poured into a pint glass. The blonde Double Take IPA pours a deep golden with a touch of haze and offers creamy white foam. Standard or better retention and lace. Good to see that it is truly 'blonde' and not overdone in the caramel department.

Aroma offers some light hop notes and an underlying simple grainy feel. Rather light overall but pleasant in the approach with an orange and lemony underpinning.

More orange notes on the flavor along with a bit lemon bread and a light bitterness. Touch acrid at times particulary when first poured. A bit of warming and air helps dissipate the tannin notes but this beer is quite dry for a 6.9% offering, finishing a bit chalky.

This beer starts off well enough but surely takes a turn for the worse. Like the blonde on the bottle you don't really want to look to closely and perhaps a bit more enjoyable right from the bottle. Still nothing detracts excessively.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 00:55:47 | More by HalfFull

bbkd3b

Missouri

2.78/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I've been hesitant about buying this due to the fact that it's at a chain grocery store for $6... Price bias? Perhaps, but I'm going off of past experience here. Poured into a pint glass.

Copper body complement by a thin, fizzy kind of head. Nice color, but it has a pretty flat appearance. Each sip leaves a thin, sticky lacing down the side of a glass. Smell is a faint hoppiness, kind of sprucy. No real malt backbone to speak of, but there's a faint, fruity undertone popping up. Neither potent nor deep, but not unpleasant.

A light, tingly body carries the flavor on to the tongue. A decent bitter kick on the back end is about the best part. There's a light hop bite the whole way through. No malts to speak of - it's a fairly one-dimensional brew.

I'm not all of that surprised at the result, here. For the price, it's decent enough, but I don't see myself revisiting it in the near-future... or the distant-future, for that matter.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 03:20:35 | More by bbkd3b

industrialswill

Washington

4/5  rDev +52.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a 6 pack at Safeway for $5...which right off the bat "raises red flags".
Looks quite a lot like motor oil, but with a head.
The smell is of floral hops and some alcohol gassing off.
First sip is met with a rich malt flavor followed by the tangy hops. Nothing seems over done, under done...just a nice beer for a great price.
I can't detect any aspirin, moldy hops, Lipton Tea or anything else "evil" going on with this beer.
It doesn't have the flamboyant hop flavors that some IPA drinkers might demand, but there is no mistaking [by anyone with brewing experience]that this is a full fledged IPA.
If I was given this to review blindfolded, my opinion of it would be the same as it is now...I like this one and will call it "GOOD"
"GOOD" BTW, means that I thought the beer was totally enjoyable and rates a 4.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2011 16:30:56 | More by industrialswill

sabinelr

Washington

3.05/5  rDev +16%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This comes out better now that Safeway is having a special at $5 a sixer. Everyone else is going up. I balked at 8.99 for Old Rasputin, so I went on a quest for something cheaper. I remembered this from some months back when they first came out with it at Safeway. The taste is bitter - one review said it tasted like aspirin - not sure why the reviewer eats aspirin. The aftertaste is persistent bitter, without an unpleasant leftover. But where else can you get something that has a taste and 6.9% for 5 bucks? I frankly don't understand how it is possible for breweries to get beer so wrong when they whip up millions of gallons, but at least this isn't as wrong as Rainier/Oly/whatever the heck else. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to mellow out after a tough day battling customers. This beer is a lesson for any home brewers: you want to rescue your batch from disaster? Throw in the hops.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2011 01:09:04 | More by sabinelr

srandycarter

California

2.17/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Not going to do the traditional review here.

Looks like a nice IPA. Smell is malt and citrus with a weird kind of sourish twang. Taste is not good. Malt comes on, is attacked by hops and the whole thing is enveloped in a very nasty bitter/sour (sour like gone bad) kind of flavor that doesn't go away. It's like they TRIED to screw this one up. Nuf said.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2011 04:56:46 | More by srandycarter

Zorro

California

2.05/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Been avoiding this one but Von's was selling it for $5 a six pack tonight so I HAD to give it a try.

Clear amber colored ale with a small yellowish white colored head. It does fall in the spectrum that I like to call IPA Orange.

Smell is herbal hops with smells of aspirin and the smell of a willow tree, Amarillo Hops?

Starts out sweetish with a unexpected caramel syrup taste. Fairly bitter with an aspirin flavor that I associate with Amarillo hop, I'm not a fan of this hop variety. Fairly bitter with a bit of a savory taste to it. Sensation of salt on the tongue. The taste is fairly acrid, something like burned plastic. The taste is frankly for want of a better word for it Abusive.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Overall I am tempted to give this a 1. Bluntly this isn't a good beer. Only reason this doesn’t get a 1 is that I didn’t pour it down the drain. Whoever decided on the hop mix should be shot and shot twice for using Amarillo hops. Needs a warning on the label "Tastes vaguely like cat piss and STRONGLY of Aspirin!”

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2011 06:53:05 | More by Zorro

jkdrummer

Washington

1.15/5  rDev -56.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Got enticed by the price, $6 for a 6. Also, strange finding beers from Rochester NY in a Seattle Safeway. There's more than one BA review page for this one, contract brewed. Worse IPA EVER! Those stinky moldy tasting rank hops made infamous by Genesee beer are present here, corn, straw tasting and disgusting - did I say how much I hated it? Terrible crap from Rochester. Do not waste your time or money.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2011 15:16:39 | More by jkdrummer

jeffjeff1

California

2.75/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I picked this up at Safeway because I have never heard of it until just now.

Appearance- amber color, pretty good size head

Smell- very light hops, barely any, malt

Taste- very light hops, a little more in the finish but still very light

Mouthfeel- medium bodied

Drinkability- It was ok but for an IPA it was not good. I was expecting hops and I barely got any. I would not buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2011 23:51:58 | More by jeffjeff1

RJLarse

Washington

2.75/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I bought a six-pack of Double Take IPA at a Safeway store. Introductory price, I think it was $5.99.

Pours a copper gold color and is clear. Frothy white head has some resiliency to it. Leaves a bit of lace on the glass.

Smell is faint, a bit of a sweet bread aroma and some citrus notes. Pink grapefruit perhaps.

Taste is also decidedly malty. Sweet bread flavors and some mild citrus. Very mild bitterness. The hop profile might qualify as an IPA, especially the English style.

Mouthfeel is OK. Medium bodied, perhaps slightly cloying, with a dry aftertaste.

Drinkable, especially at the introductory price. I think it is marginally better than the Henry Weinhard's IPA but not as good as others. I don't think I would pay more than $6.99 for a sixer of this.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2011 23:20:50 | More by RJLarse

DrLasers

California

2.45/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A sixer of IPA at $5.99 is worth for an honest try. It is definitely drinkable and mildly hoppy but it falls a bit short on all things that make a good IPA. Henry Weinhard's IPA is about the same price point but a delivers much better for a budget IPA.

This beer is exclusively distributed to Vons, Safeways, etc. who have a knack for mis-handling beer. I bought mine from a stack on the floor in front of the cooler. They were cold and warm on different sides of the package and were being rotated in with a spot in the cooler (which was empty).

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2011 21:06:40 | More by DrLasers

illidurit

California

2.3/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a typical IPA color: clear gold with a tangerine center and an average beige head. Subdued aroma, some bread along with lesser accents of crystal and caramel malts, and a wilted citrus hop note. Flavor is like iced tea with the most trifling squeeze of an orange slice. Pure Lipton bomb here. This isn’t "Brisk Baby!" Or is that Nestea’s old slogan? Regardless, this beer should be featured in brewing manuals under the What Happens When You Use Too Much Crystal Malt and Not Enough Hops chapter. Oversteeped mild citrus tea -- down to the tannic, astringent finish -- with a little malt on the side. This honestly isn’t even hopped strongly enough to breach APA territory. The body is pretty okay with just enough heft to carry the alcohol. As it warms I get a little more caramel/honey sweetness, which is not what this beer needs (an overhaul).

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2011 20:10:54 | More by illidurit

azdback

Arizona

2.88/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I am in touch with the vendor of this one a lot (he is also the vendor for Firestone Walker) and he let me know about it. It is a contract beer that is only available at Von's and Safeway grocery stores. It had an introductory price of $5.99 a sixer, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Poured into a Spaten tumbler. Bright, clear orange color. Lots and lots of carbonation bubbles that lead to a three finger bright white head. Very soapy looking from the side but quite frothy and creamy on top. Lace is very sticky and probably gonna leave it's mark on this glass, and does in a nice patched ring pattern.

Smell is quite adjunct and musty. There is definitely some Belgian or European yeast in this one. I do get just the slightest hint of sweet citrus or maybe a sour grape, but I really had to search for it.

Taste is much better than the nose but it still is too musty and dank for me. There is a rich malt backbone that is just a bit sweet. I'm not really getting any descriptors, like fruit or citrus. There is just a bit of booze warmyness way at the end.

Mouth is really not too bad. It is a bit dry but other than that not really off for the style. On second thought it is just a bit watery or thin, nicely carbonated and just a bit of booze warm in the throat.

Overall I didn't think this was all that bad. I drank this knowing that it was a contract beer, and sold only at a grocery store, so my expectations weren't that high. I think it exceeded those expectations but didn't exceed the expectations of my pallet. For $6 its worth a shot. If it is priced at $8+ don't waste your money.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2011 04:41:30 | More by azdback