Double Galaxy - Hill Farmstead Brewery

DearthVader

California

4.47/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler provided in a very generous trade by phingdong. I can't thank you enough for this one Pete.

I like to try and review my DIPAs from the same glasses so I split this with my girlfriend in my Duvel Green tulip and La Fin Du Monde tulip.

Pours a very appealing blood orange that glows violently. A pure white head of foam climbs about 2 inches, but falls rather quickly to nothing but a thin film. At first, lacing is not present at all, but as the bottle warms and I pour my second glass I get some sticky foam cloying to the sides. The lacing isn't terribly impressive, but it's there.

The smell is so enticing. It has heaps of tropical fruits (mango, pineapple, peaches, all the norm), gobs of citrus, then a hop heads delight at the end with a punch of galaxy.

The taste follows the smell perfectly. Blends of fruits, pine, slight earth tones, then hops hops hops. A perfect dryness on the end that I really didn't expect. Hard to believe there's only one hop varietal in this one.

Mouthfeel is very nice. Slightly lighter than a typical DIPA, but it works so damn well for this. It has the lighter body, but the lower carbonation makes it feel thicker. Insanely drinkable.

Naturally, I compared this to Citra the whole time I was drinking it. My girlfriend and I split a bomber of Citra last night. She is siding with the Galaxy, but in my eyes, Citra took it by a nose. Call me a homer, you're probably right. You can tell from the review though, I absolutely loved this beer.

Serving type: growler

08-31-2011 03:08:43 | More by DearthVader

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.7/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

deep crystal clear amber with a nce foamy head that was slow to fad, leaving a fine lace all the way to the bottom. The smell is deep piney hops with a bit of grapefruit thrown in for good measure. The taste...well lets just say this ain't you daddy's beer!! Knock you down hops, beautiful, strong, pine and citrus that will have you puckering your mouth for a while. Great dry finish. This is a hop heads delight and lived up to the hype

Serving type: growler

08-19-2011 02:04:48 | More by mikesgroove

koopa

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Got a growler fill at the Saison event this past weekend.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy/hazy dull caramel with honey folds. The crown is 1 finger, soft white, shows good retention and lace.

Smell: Pink starbursts, grapefruit pith, a dash of brewing salts, and a nice lightly sweet bready malt.

Taste: Same as the nose with added red fruit presence and much more pith in the finish. Very nice lingering bitterness and just a hint of alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation that really helps the hops shine.

Drinkability: very drinkable despite the abv and the ibu's.

Wow what a solid brew from Hill Farmstead. Definitely my favorite of the hoppy offerings they have (along with Edward).

Serving type: growler

08-17-2011 01:18:04 | More by koopa

QuadLover

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

750 ML pour from the Hill on 8/6/11

A ~ Cloudy, orange blossom honey. Thin head.

S – Fantastic; peach, orange, grapefruit.

M ~ Thick for an IPA. Creamy but not heavy mouth feel.

T – Initials citrus – Orange, followed by heavy grapefruit. Very delightful, full bodied flavor.

O ~ Excellent IPA. Beautiful balance. A truly sensory rich experience.

Serving type: growler

08-15-2011 01:28:10 | More by QuadLover

CharlieMurphy

New York

3.9/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Counter pressure filled yesterday. I've had Ephraim before but not this one. My palate is a little wrecked from the Saison fest yesterday so...

A: Orange merange with a thin frog egged head. Very warm and murky

S: These hops smell incredible- Tons of citrus, thin and blended- there's lots of different fruits amalgamating and making it difficult to identify, pine is even significantly quaffable as a tertiary aroma. Some thin/cleanness + a lesser degree of mustiness akin to simcoe and/or centennial at the end as well.

T: Not quite a mirror of the smell. Some empty delay in flavor in the beginning that's a slight let down. Citrus fades quickly from first sip to last and it doesn't have anywhere near the citrus presence implied by the nose. Finish is also akin to simcoe/centennial.

M: Not too rough, approachable level of dehydration for a DIPA. low-medium carbonation.

O: Good IPA, not on world class level like some other HF's.

Serving type: growler

08-14-2011 23:55:37 | More by CharlieMurphy

Gfunk720

Connecticut

4.58/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Special thanks to Tucker for accidentally sending this to me! Out of a snifter...

A- A glowing amber/hay color, the beer is quite murky but very bright. A light frothy/foamy white head forms.

S- Fresh grass, lemon, pinnaple. It smells extremely fresh and smooth, no harshness. Other people at our group said it smelled like pot, but I wasn't picking it up.

T- Wow. So smooth, soft, and balanced. Lots of citrus and fresh grassy hops. Some piny notes, and the perfect malt background. This beer tastes amazing, and everyone agreed that it was an amazing IPA.

M- Perfect. Nothing I would change about it.

O- Hill Farmstead is making the best IPA's on the East Coast right now, and possibly in the country. The Ephraim/Galaxy/Citra are all in my top 5 IPA's of all time. You really can't go wrong with this beer.

-GFunk

Serving type: growler

08-12-2011 14:55:29 | More by Gfunk720

tigg924

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: 1/3 inch head, orange-brown in color, hazy, moderate carbonation

Smell: big pine and citrus hops

Taste: juicy citrus hops with some caramel in the back

Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, medium bodied, bitter start with some sweetness mid drink, and a dry bitter end

Overall: With apologies to Wachusett Larry, this is the best IPA that is coming out of New England. Certainly one of the most refreshing IPAs I have had. On the hoppier side but what a nice juicy burst of citrus. I could drink several pints of this.

Serving type: growler

08-11-2011 13:05:51 | More by tigg924

schmoopsbeer

California

4.72/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Alex for sharing this
Served from growler into pint glass

Color: Big vibrant yellowish color, almost hay like. Two fingers worth of frothy white head form from the pour. Leaves behind a good amount of lacing.

Nose: Big fruit smells.... Pineapple is massive here also followed by hints of mango, apricot and peach. The hops are fresh and evident. Wonderful smelling beer.

Palate: Amazing presence on the tongue. The drinkability is perfect and the carbonation is just right. Waves of fruit hit the mouth with a fury, but its all balanced out by the hop and malt body. The Abv is nowhere to be found. Amazing!

Finish: Superb! complex and smooth. You get an array of fruit flavors, especially pineapple. The Abv is so well masked its unbelievable. An excellent IPA.

Rating: 96/100

Serving type: growler

08-11-2011 06:26:51 | More by schmoopsbeer

321jeff

Maryland

4.93/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Much thanks to Michael for providing this one!

Pours a dull golden amber with a huge fluffy white head that leaves tons of sticky lacing as it fades to a thin layer that remains for most of the drink.

Holy citrus! Loads of juicy oranges and grapefruit, with a slight resiny presence. Not much malt to be found, but that's the way a good hop bomb should be.

Taste is equally as citrusy and juicy. No doubt this one is loaded with hops, but it's extremely smooth and balanced. Slightly sweet with minimal malts to be found.

Pretty thick and sticky in the body with lots of find carbonation. Pretty bitter up front, but the finish is as smooth as can be with no lasting bitterness, excellent. This is an absolutely fantastic DIPA. I'd love to be able to have this on a regular basis, maybe I should look for a job in Vermont...

Serving type: growler

07-28-2011 01:14:08 | More by 321jeff

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Michael (yourefragile) for sharing yet another great Hill Farmstead brew with me.

A: Pretty orange color with bubbles on the sides of the glass to compliment and pinky of bubbly white head with excellent lacing. Great start.

S: Very nice dank tropical fruit semi sweet notes hit the nostrils with ample weed and plant hop aromas. Nice earthy aroma overall.

T: No malt in there, but really there is not much need for it as theres a slight sweetness supporting big tropical mango, pineapple, pine needles, leafy weed, and earthy hop notes. Nice bitter lingering finish on this.

M: Great feel, perfect sweetness to bitter, a pretty good hop bite.

Overall I enjoyed this beer a lot, though if it had even a little nice malt character I probably would have loved it even more, just my opinion. Keep doing great stuff Hill Farmstead!

Serving type: growler

07-27-2011 02:20:19 | More by Dreadnaught33

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.43/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

32oz growler into a tasting glass. Huge thanks to Alex for sharing this buzzy brew.

A: Clear light amber body with a thin head of frothy white foam. Nice retention, fine lace. Pretty good.

S: Pure hoppiness, with intensely spicy, fruity, vegetal, leafy, herbal craziness going on; very, very minty. I'm impressed - it's hard to believe this is a single-hop beer.

T: A little more restrained than the nose, but similarly terrific: piney + citric hops dominate, with some more herbal hop notes joining with light pale malt on the long, bitter finish. Very drinkable and enjoyable.

M: Light-to-medium body with similar carbonation. Pleasantly understated.

O: This is the last of the HF DIPAs to cross my lips (at least of those that are listed on BA), and as amazing as it is I think it's actually my least favorite. The Galaxy hops definitely did more than their due in terms of lending the beer flavor, complexity, and character, but I'm just not as crazy about this hop as I am about Citra, and both Abner and Ephraim are just masterpieces. I can't wait for a new variation.

Cheers!

Serving type: growler

07-27-2011 01:25:16 | More by woosterbill

starrdogg

District of Columbia

4.45/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to yourefragile for sharing a growler of this one - love me some Hill Farmstead!

A: Looks like a Hill Farmstead DIPA! It's a hazy golden/orange with a decent amount of lacing.

S: Smell is a fantastic citrus/hops aroma.

T: Taste is a somewhat sweet up front with a bitter grassy hops bite on the finish. This is pretty much straight hops right here with nary a hint of malt, yet the flavor is still complex enough to keep this beer interesting. Quite good.

M: Medium-bodied with decent carbonation.

O: This is another great DIPA from Hill Farmstead, but I'm not sure it comes quite up to the level of Ephraim. This seems more in line with their other DIPAs instead, not sure why exactly this one is getting so much more hype. It's damn good, but no better than their other fine offerings.

Edit: Revisited in January of 2013 and it's better than I remember! I might still give it a similar score, though would consider going up to 4.75 on smell, taste and overall. It's got more of a malt characteristic than I remember which really helps balance the incredible citrusy hop flavor. I absolutely believe it deserves the hype it gets now.

Serving type: growler

07-14-2011 03:28:20 | More by starrdogg

mltobin

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A buddy of mine was kind enough to share his growler.

The appearance is pale yellow with a good sized white head. Its` smell has pine, grapefruit, a certain earthiness. Galaxy tastes of citrus hops, different tropical fruit, bitterness. It is a well balanced imperial ipa and does not seem to overdo it, in any aspect. MF is dry, bitter in the end, but not too much. Yet another, very good beer from these folks out of Vermont.

Serving type: growler

07-11-2011 23:49:14 | More by mltobin

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.7/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750mL growler shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike!

The beer is a hazy orange hue, with a small head that hangs out for a while, leaving a fair bit of lacing on the glass. The aroma is just awesome, with bold scents of oranges, grapefruits, hops, and nary a trace of malt. What a delicious beer. I wish I had a keg of this. Teeming with delicious citrus and hop flavors, this is hard not to chug. Superb on all accounts, I highly recommend this beer. Hill Farmstead is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries.

Serving type: growler

07-11-2011 19:59:12 | More by Huhzubendah

mdfb79

New York

4.22/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From 07/07/11 notes. 750ml growler shared by Thorpe429; thanks Mike, always interested in trying more beers from these guys. Poured into a Fantome tulip.

a - Pour a hazy yellow-golden color with one inch of white head and moderate carbonation evident. Light lacing on the glass, looks pretty nice.

s - Smells of tropical fruits, citrus hops, pine hops, and light floral notes. Lots of fruit, I found it pretty enjoyable.

t - Tastes same as the nose, with some moderate bitterness. Pine hops, citrus hops, and some tropical fruits.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Moderate bitterness up front and then especially in the aftertaste.

o - Overall I thought this was a really nice DIPA from Hill Farmstead, though I personally prefer Ephraim. Would certainly have it again.

Serving type: growler

07-11-2011 17:28:07 | More by mdfb79

AgentZero

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Three cheers for Sean for sharing this growler.

A - Yellowish orange beer with a frothy white head that had some good retention.

S - Smells a lot like catnip and catnip tea. Some nice tropical fruits, citrus, and some sugary bitterness on the end.

T - Great hops, sweet, with a little floral taste, tropical fruit, grapefruit, citrus rind. There is a nice buttery taste at the beginning of this one that adds an interesting element to this beer melded with the hops.

M - Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, and a crisp feel.

O - Really nice beer, with a unique taste. I'm not real familliar with Galaxy hops, but it made for a really great beer.

Serving type: growler

07-10-2011 20:05:50 | More by AgentZero

Wasatch

Utah

4.83/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to Satchboogie for this brew.

750ml Growler
Swing-Top

Poured into a DFH glass a very nice cloudy golden yellowish color, nice carbonation, very nice one-finger plus creamy off-white head, with some nice sticky lacing to follow. The nose is a hop bomb, with some nice malt notes, lots of citrus, and a very nice touch of pine notes, also some spice notes. The taste is very nice, hoppy, slight maltyness, sweet, lots of nice citrus/pine notes. Medium Body, ABV hidden very well with this one, very nice subtle dry/bitter finish. Goes down very very easy, slightly chewy. Never heard of this Galaxy Hop from Australia before, but it is very nice. WOW! This is definitely a very tasty DIPA on the lower side of things. Glad to have gotten a chance to try it, Thanks Kyle!

Serving type: growler

07-10-2011 01:21:18 | More by Wasatch

jrallen34

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

According to this "Expert" my review is as follows... super unique color of a dark murky honey gold with tons of orange, super dark orange deep in the body, a cool light tope head... the nose is a bit light, some nice grass hops with a bit of dank, a bit of orange peel, good but cursing that I’m not having this totally fresh... the taste is super buttery grass hops... a really good beer, but getting a touch too hyped right now

Serving type: growler

07-09-2011 22:14:39 | More by jrallen34

drabmuh

Maryland

3.78/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Growler shared by Thorpe429 at his place the other night. Thanks! A big want, obviously because at the time of this review, this is the #44 beer on the beeradvocate best of list "popular" and the #6 beer on the best of American Double / Imperial IPA. This probably means I'm going to love it.

Beer is yellow and hazy with a wispy head of small white head that leaves some lacing, moderate to low carbonation.

Aroma is mildly vegetal and earthy with a mild citrus hops, moderate floral notes, smell good but I'm not overwhelmed so far.

When I drank this I asked Thorpe if it tasted the same as the one he drank (by himself) a few days earlier and he confirmed that "It is nearly the same, perhaps a little less hoppy" -- it is hoppy, mild to moderately bitter on the back, interesting throughout but there is an off sulfur character or some sort of vegetalness that makes me wish we were drinking more Abner. Not my favorite from HF but perhaps my expectations were too high. I've never had a Galaxy single hopped beer. I'd have another and I'd even have this again on draft but it was somewhat of a disappointment.

Serving type: growler

07-09-2011 15:56:47 | More by drabmuh

Sean9689

Illinois

4.65/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I've had this beer on-tap at the brewery, on-tap at Parker Pie Co. (near the brewery), and this is the second time I'm enjoying it from a growler. 750ml Hill Farmstead flip-top growler into my Bruery tulip. All to myself! (don't worry guys, I got a 2nd one to share).

A - Pours a FL orange color, white frothy head, sticky white lacing, lots of bubbles along the collar and cap, thin whisps on top.

S - An wonderful aroma of bitter hops, tons of orange peel citrus dominate the nose. Tons of hops, but, it's really nothing like I've ever had before. Very juicy, rich, and just plain outstanding. There's some sweetness there on the finish that's very tropical, peaches, pineapple.

T - Orange peel, mango, some tropical notes and lots of wonderful hops. The bitterness is smooth and enjoyable, not trying to destroy your palate like many other inferior DIPA's. You know this is a DIPA without it screaming "look at me"...it's refreshing.

M - Perfect, to say the least. Smooth, refreshing, soft carbonation, with a medium body.

O - Seriously, there is nothing wrong with this beer. I looked, I tried, I failed. I've had this beer in draft, out of a growler, from a taster, from a wine glass, tulip, etc. I still can't find a flaw. I would put this DIPA up against any of the same style from any brewery, it's just that good. Not a palate destroyer, not overly sweet or syrupy, just f'n awesome. Shaun, you killed it with this beer!

Serving type: growler

07-09-2011 00:20:24 | More by Sean9689

lnashsig

Texas

4.9/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Many many many many thanks to Beenitty for this incredibly generous extra (32 oz growler) in a trade just received today. My beautiful wife was kind enough to unpack the box and put the growler in the fridge so that it was cold when I got off work.

After undoing the amazing tape work that Beenitty did to the top of the growler (seriously, he did a great job with the packaging), it popped with a nice hiss. Immediate floral hop scent left the top of the growler into my nostrils. Its clear that I'm in the presence of greatness here.

Smell- buttery citrus, some breadiness, nice tropical fruit flavors. Taste- just decadent for an IIPA...nice citrus, sweet breads, a buttery smooth tropical fruit flavor, with a nice bitterness on the end.

Mouthfeel- just a tad of the carbonation may have been lost (no fault of Beenitty, just a probable result of a little bit of air in the top), but regardless this is absolutely drinkable and wonderful.

Drinkability- It will be an absolute pleasure to take this growler down, and it will leave me for more. I long for the day where I can drink Hill Farmstead's goodness again, and hopefully I'll get a chance at GABF this year.

Serving type: growler

07-08-2011 22:44:58 | More by lnashsig

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.93/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Growler sent by Tucker. Consumed two days after my first review below. Scores are based on this sample.

Looks similar to most other HF DIPAs and it's beautiful. Color is a hazed and cloudy glowing apricot with a fluffy, dense white head. Long lasting retention and abundant, sticky clumps of lacing.

Aroma is perfect balanced blend of peach, grapefruit, mango, and citrus rind. Sticky and more sweet than bitter, extremely tropical and juicy. A rare 5.0 for a DIPA aroma from me...

Flavor is intensely tropical sweet and juicy to start, following the same flavors as the aroma before finishing slightly dry, floral and with strong citrus rind. Never intensely bitter or thick and overbearing. What about malts? Who cares? With this blend of flavors from the Galaxy hop and balance, a strong malt presence is not only irrelevant, but unwelcome. I would give the flavor a 5 as well if not for the previous growler (that drabmuh also reviewed) where we picked up on some unpleasant vegetable flavors.

Body is medium thick, creamy and smooth. Reminds me of Double Sunshine in the softness of the texture where the beer is light and refreshing, instead of being a thick, chewy chore to get through.

So here we are. All of HF's IPAs/DIPAs have been great or exceptional and IMO this is the pinnacle so far. Not as flashy as Ephraim but Ephraim isn't an everyday beer. This is as good as a big "everyday" DIPA can and should be. All tropical hops, restrained bitterness, undetectable alcohol, perfect body and aroma. I guess I'm saying I liked this.

Growler shared by Thorpe429

This is a great DIPA. I enjoyed this more than HF's Double Citra. Not quite as much as Ephraim. Certainly not on the level of recently sampled Double Sunshine or Kryptonite and not on the level of other "classics". Grapefruity, lemony, danky and floral, everything I want from a DIPA except, oh wait, why is this so fricking vegetative in the finish. Funny, I don't remember that touch from batch 1 and now I'm very curious to try another growler.

Serving type: growler

07-08-2011 06:03:10 | More by yourefragile

AleWatcher

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Growler shared by Whitemomba-- thanks Jason!!

Served in FFF tulip pint.

A really hazy beer here-- a lot like other HF beers that I've had actually... It's a golden apricot color with a nice two finger head. The bubbles are big and loose, and due to that fact, it seems we don't see great retention or lacing.

The beer smells and tastes very nice: citrusy lemon and grapefruit with some dank floral notes, all over a light bready/biscuity malt. Very dry and bitter finish. Clean and fresh.

Body is nice. Well carbed and medium light.

Overall, this is a good beer... Not the best HF beer I've had, but still good.

Serving type: growler

07-08-2011 01:08:27 | More by AleWatcher

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.88/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Tremendous thanks to SFLpunk and imagineiii for making this possible, and ensuring that quite a few people in the DC circle will get to try this one out. First 750 is all for me. Nothing like having over a dozen tickable pours all to myself.

Served in a Hill Farmstead long-stem tulip glass.

Pours a moderately-hazy bright apricot color with a strong two-finger white head. Fairly fluffy. There's some good retention and gobs and gobs of spotty lacing as it goes down the glass. Good collar and -- appropriately -- a galaxy-swirl cap on top throughout.

The nose starts out with some very, very strong citrus. Lots of grapefruit and orange rind. Some tropical mango in the background. Some more hops. Then some more. Damn. As it warms, the grapefruit takes a bit over from the orange and tropical notes. One of the better smelling DIPAs that I've come across. Me giving something a 5.0 is rare. It being a DIPA that doesn't feature Citra is even rarer. I'm not a Citra fanboy at all :) (That's right, a smiley face in a review...I'm pretty sure I've never done that before.)

The flavor begins with some supremely-aggressive hop components. Grapefruit pith abounds. Looking for serious hop action? Whoop, there it is. Smiley face? Check. Old-school "ashamed to have had singed and danced to" song? Check. Banging on all cylinders tonight. Reference to Brian Regan. Class act.

Other than the all-out grapefruit assault, there's some malt in the background. Who am I kidding? No there's not. It's all hops. This is what a double IPA should be. As has been a frequent topic of forum discussions, no, hops don't belong everywhere. Straight fact, though: malt does not belong in an American Imperial IPA. It simply does not. That's an American Barleywine. Shaun gets an A+ here for brewing a beer that is an all-out hop assault that I never need a break from. The bitterness and flavor both take me to the brink, but never off the edge. So much hop flavor and bitterness all in one package.

Medium body with a brisk, crisp bitterness and moderate carbonation. No real alcohol character. Strong bitterness. Then some hop fruitiness. Nearly a flawless beer. Now, given that this review is about eleventy billion times my average review length, I think I'll call it quits. Cheers.

Serving type: growler

07-06-2011 02:55:58 | More by Thorpe429

beenitty

New Jersey

4.88/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Hunted this one all over NYC and finally was rewarded with 32oz growler from Decicco's Ardsley.

A: Gorgeous orange pour of your typical DIPA, looks great.

S: Awsome nose of tropical fruits followed with hops, no complaints.

T: Explosion of fruit flavors, leaves you wanting more and more and more

M: Very very nice, slight bitterness in aftertaste, very smooth

D: Super high, give me more holy crap.

This beer tastes just like Double Sunshine except a bit less on the explosion of fruit in the taste department, but the description of liquid heaven by other reviewers is very accurate. The fact that I gave Double Sunshine all 5's is the only reason that I didn't give this one all 5's. Not sure if that's fair but, there's nothing wrong with this one. Do what you can to get ahold of this beer its worth it.

Serving type: growler

07-04-2011 03:45:48 | More by beenitty