Super Conductor - 8 Wired Brewing Co.

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.94/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bursting with bold candied hop aroma and taste- Super Conductor is a full-flavored, full-bodied American (Imperial) IPA that explores all realms of hop character.

Super Conductor pours with a bright blood orange saturated hue. Its mild hop haze allows the soft redness from malt to cast a rich vail over the beer's appearance. Cappped by a firm ivory froth, its retention is long lived and its lacing is spotty. It's simply a hearty looking ale.

Fruity sweet early, the nose is chocked full of citrus pulp, caramel, honey and marmalade. Diving deeper into taste, the candied malt sweetness coats the hops and esters for a drippy tangerine, melon, and pineapple effect- its quite Tropical Fruit Punch-like in its culmination. Transending paste a tinge of lemon and white grape must- the taste concludes with bitter citrus oils and a thin bready undertow.

Its full sweet texture stems from high residual maltiness and subdued carbonation, causing the beer to sit weightily on the tongue and saturate the palate fully. Its deliberate turn to finish closes with medium dryness, moderate warmth and resinous pine-like bitterness to finish.

Edging ever so slightly to the malty side for Imperial IPA, the hops remain at the forefront with a blend of citrus, tropical, and melon; but with a near-English-like sweet and fruity interplay.

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2013 01:18:40 | More by BEERchitect

garuda

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

A - Golden, murky, thin white head has little retention and lace.

Smell and taste are fairly similar with grapefruit flesh and pineapple hops. Caramel malt sweetness is strong, but balanced. Medium to full body has good carbonation, mostly smooth, finishes dry with little lasting bitterness.

O - Balanced DIPA, but missing the depth of hop flavor and aroma for the style.

Serving type: on-tap

04-05-2013 17:27:43 | More by garuda

GONZALOYANNA

Spain

4.03/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap. Tumbler glass. Enjoyed on feb´13. Gold in color, foggy appearance. White froth creates a creamy, close & lasting crown. Copious rings on sides. Caramel malt & candy aromas, ripe apricot notes to the nose. Sharp bitter upfront followed by involving caramel maltiness. Medium body. Soft carbonation. Creamy palate. Resiny bitterness arises again in the middle - to shown we are talking about a DIPA -& lingers into a long finish. Hints of ripe fruit on the aftertaste. Flavorful & refreshing. Very well balanced beer!! Very easy drinkability since ABV is well masked.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2013 08:43:33 | More by GONZALOYANNA

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.63/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours amber with a large, fading head. Nose shows a mix of piny and tropical fruit-like hops, with soft passion fruit and pineapple. Soft clean malt underneath. Very malty flavours, but with a fair whack of pine and grapefruit to balance things out. Finishes with an assertive bitterness. Could use more carbonation.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2013 07:54:04 | More by CrazyDavros

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance. Pours a hazy orange-gold with a finger of white head that leaves some nice bands of lace.

Smell. Sweet tropical fruits, cedar wood and pine needles, lightly floral, caramel and grainy malts, and a little sweet yellow grapefruit. Quite complex for an ipa.

Taste. Grainy malts and caramel, orange marmalade, yellow grapefruit rinds, some cedar and pine. Fairly sweet overall and some good bitterness. Tropical fruits are also present and some slight floral notes as well.

Mouthfeel. Medium+ body with low+ smooth carbonation.

Overall. These New Zealand hops definitely have a distinct complexity but maybe not the best flavours as far as hops go. That being said, it's a fine beer and very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 18:19:59 | More by Rutager

bobhits

Kentucky

3.78/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

8 Wire honestly has not made a beer that wasn't extremely good and this is no exception.

Gorgeous cloudy dense orange ruby body with 2 finger head and wonderful shelves of foam lacing.

Somewhat light nose even right after the cap came off the aroma wasn't worthy of this double IPA. Sadly we suffer older bottles thanks to Shelton distribution and this being distributed from New Zealand.

Bready malt, grains, and a big powerful sharp citrus hop profile. I'm a bit surprised that I don't get the passion fruit flavors I normally taste in souther hemisphere IPA from this region. I'm a bit disappointed but this is still good.

Well carbonated, creamy, dense....amazing how easy it seems to be to make an IPA have wonderful mouth feel.

Overall this is another excellent beer from what is becoming one of my favorite brewers.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 13:01:41 | More by bobhits

wethorseblanket

California

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours from a 500 ml bottle a slightly hazy orange with a surprisingly thin (1/8") white head which leaves irregular rings and spots of lace.

N: Mostly resiny pine with some caramel malt. Slightly floral sweet with citrus pith.

T: Sticky and oily pine up front with sweetish malt. Fairly straightforward and unremarkable.

M: Medium body and semi-moderate carbonation. Dry and bitter hop finish.

O: Alas, this must be an "old" bottle as the typical New Zealand pungent hops have long faded away. What I'm left with is somewhat brash and sharp, but still decent. Sad face.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 01:03:14 | More by wethorseblanket

eric5bellies

Australia

4.3/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Drank from my Duvel tulip

A - Pours a deep cloudy copper colour with a nice two fingered head that reduces to a film and laces. Very nice

S - Heaps of hop, sweet toffee malts, grapefruit. Pungent aromas of herb.

T - Super heavy hop flavours that smooth out into toffe mals with a bitter finish.

M - Coates your tongue in a thick film of heavy malt. The carbonation is medium.

O - I don't normally like big IPA's, but I sure can appreciate this one for what it is. It has all the hallmarks of a big IPA. Recommended although your taste buds will be shot

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 14:22:30 | More by eric5bellies

MasterSki

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottle from West Lakeview Liquors. This is nearly four months old now I guess - thanks Shelton Brothers. Served in a Darkness snifter.

A - Finger of white foam settles to a near-complete cap, thick collar, and a few fingers of lace. Hazy caramel body.

S - You can tell the aroma hops have faded quite a bit - some cheesy beta acid presence and a brown sugar and caramel malt initially, but some of the residual herbs, pine, light grape and tropical fruits. Some bready malts and lightly toasted sugars.

T - Taste has held up significantly better, with a nice blend of zesty citrus, pine, goosebeery, and a lightly astringent note. Not as overtly malt here, with more of a periphery caramel and sugar contribution. Alcohol is well-concealed, although this still feels like a bigger DIPA than listed.

M - Chewy, medium-full body. Smooth texture with an oily and resinous finish. Not much alcohol presence, other than a touch of warming after a glass. Soft, moderate carbonation. Feels more like a 10% in heft, even without any overt booziness.

D - This was probably really good in December, but now it's merely serviceable. I really wish these breweries bottle dated, or that Shelton would be a little quicker in getting things to market. This *just* reached store shelves here in the last two weeks. I had no problem with the .5L bottle, but it's just too expensive to gamble on hoppy imports.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 03:36:29 | More by MasterSki

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.19/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

500ml bottle. This brewery has been all aces thus far - nice to now see an imperial IPA from them.

This beer pours a somewhat hazy medium golden amber colour, with one finger of tightly foamy ecru head, which leaves an ambitious berm of painted lace around the glass as it quickly subsides.

It smells of orange, pineapple, mango, and grapefruit, caramel/toffee malt, a bit of sodden breadiness, some mild pine resin, a touch of brown sugar, a light twinge of warming alcohol, and some further bitter floral, leafy hops. The taste is much more bitter tropical fruit - grapefruit, mango, and pineapple - edgy caramel malt, singed toffee pudding, a sharp pine needle astringency, some equitable booze warming, and a lingering perfumed floral character.

The carbonation is evenly distributed, with a level-handed touch, the body an adequate medium weight, bordering on full, with a decent smoothness, however fraught with hoppy potholes. It finishes off-dry, in a certain elevated sense, the big fruit and pine bitterness still ceding no quarter, as the caramel/toffee malt backbone puffs its chest in agreement.

A stand-up New World IPA, imperialized in a most empowering, post-colonial way. Good and bitter, though not in an untethered sense, and the near 9 points of alcohol are generally well obfuscated, just enough until the final determination of cause and effect is rendered, upon last swig. A worthy contender for upper class standing in the style.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 23:11:15 | More by biboergosum

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Fresh bottle from Premier Gourmet. Generous retained head. Wafting aroma of grapefruit citrus and New Zealand chardonnay smelling hops. Above average mouthfeel. Tangy, tasty.SOme grapefuit. Not the best DIPA but certainly worth a try. Bit of a palate eraser.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 02:26:41 | More by northyorksammy

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.28/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

500ml bottle poured into tulip 12/2/13

A clear light copper with some bubbles of all sizes feeding a two finger off white head that retains well and leaves a few rings followed by some random patches

S mango, passion fruit, pineapple, lemon, lime and guava round out the tropical fruit notes, there's a fair amount of pine and toffee in there too. pretty solid nose with a nice blend of tropical notes, pine and sugars, about what I look for in a DIPA

T the tropical notes are more focused towards rind and its very piney compared to the nose, there's a little booze but fairly well concealed considering the strength, rind and pine are strong on the finish

M leaning towards full, slightly creamy from the bubbles with a nice bitter bite, slick after the fact with very faint heat

O no complaints from this guy, another great DIPA from the Kiwis, great hop profile with a little tropical twist on a US style West Coast, well done

I could drink another and I probably will, I'm starting to sound like a broken record but this is yet another great addition to the shelves here in Alberta

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2013 06:23:50 | More by wordemupg

cvm4

Mississippi

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A - Pours a golden amber that hazy with a one finger eggshell head.

S - Tropical hops with sweet malts in the background.

T - Orange rind joins with piney hops that ends in a floral bitter finish.

M - Medium body & carbonation. Not thin, has a good thickness to it.

O - Impressed... Not overly malted with juicy hops.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 02:25:43 | More by cvm4

danieelol

Australia

3.53/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance is nice light amber. Good head/lacing.

Smell is nice yummy caramel malt and herbal, US-style hops.

Taste is similar. Herbal hops, caramel malt. Exactly how you do a decent US-style DIPA.

Mouthfeel is equal parts sweet/bitter.

Exactly what you expect in an (East Coast) US-style DIPA. No more, no less.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 16:26:10 | More by danieelol

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.18/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle purchased from Slowbeer in Melbourne.

Pours a juicy and thick deep orange, turning to amber in the depths, with a frothy, fine and very pronounced head of yellowish off-white. Lacing is spectacular and intricate when it forms, looking like a variety of alien limbs. Body is weighty, and holds powdery carbonation when tilted. All up, it's a damn fine looking beer.

Nose is gorgeously ripe and full, with powerful citrus tones, sweet fruit, peely acidity all sharpened by a green herbal presence which gives characters of basic and pine. Some smooth honeyed malt sweetness provides a counterpoint, and even though it's a lighter-style sweetness it does a good job of holding up its end. But really, this is gorgeous stuff—on the sharper end hop-wise, but the Kiwis do such a good job of that that it's completely understandable.

Taste is also good: big powerful resiny hop characters, solid if muted malt, again with a honey overtone, and a finish of pine and pithy lemon. My only issue is that here the sharpness is dominant, and it seems to push aside some of the more subtle hop flavours: the rounded citrus and those delicate herbal tones are lost amongst the piney bite that roars down the centre of the tongue. It's still a very good DIPA: the aggression is no doubt requisite in the style, but I feel like it could have been a better beer if played with a little more subtlety.

Feel is fluid but chewy and rich. Lovely stuff here, although that hop-bite is almost a feeling in itself.

Don't get me wrong. I love it, despite what I personally might want it to be. 8 Wired do a fantastic line in hopped-to-hell beers, whatever their category, so it shouldn't surprise me that their DIPA is aggressively bitter and brutal. It's completely understandable, forgivable and even perhaps inevitable.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 06:09:19 | More by lacqueredmouse

dansmcd

Australia

4.2/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a golden sunset colour capped by a half finger of creamy white head, the odd swirl keeps it present. Nice coating of lace.

S - Big tropical fruit hops up front, grapefruit and mango. This is going to be a BIG DIPA me thinks. Sweet sugary malt backing.

T - The fruit platter is joined by hordes of pine, and a dollop of sticky honey, with fudge and caramel. Pretty good balance for such an overloaded brew.

M - Oily, resinous body, just exploding with hop bitterness, the pine resin dominates the finish and aftertaste.

O - Another top quality kiwi hopbomb.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 01:46:55 | More by dansmcd

Brad007

Vermont

4.35/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

I enjoy this brewery's output and I was stoked to see another DIPA to savor.

Pours a mild copper color with a frothy white head in my glass. Color's in the middle of the spectrum but any darker and I'd be suspicious.

I'm going to guess Nelson Sauvin as far as the hops are concerned. "Fruity" with a good whiff of grapefruit and apricot. Pungent.

Very crisp, bitter hop characteristics that start off with a grapefruit/mango/apricot vibe and cascade into what could be piney in a manner.

Lingering alcohol warmth with a strong pine residue and very little of the citrus. The finish could be nicer but it still works.

An adventurous DIPA that incorporates New Zealand hops to create this interpretation of the style. I believe this is another brewery to watch as far as innovation is concerned.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 02:46:51 | More by Brad007