Notorious Triple IPA - Boneyard Beer Company

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.98/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

32 oz. growler poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Copper body. Not much of a heaf. Big bubbles in the collar. Otherwise just a bit of surface lace.

Smell - Very hoppy. Dank might be the descriptor, but I've never been big on that. Strong pine, grapefruit. Very simcoe-y. Some booze and sweetness.

Taste - Whoa, hoppy, boozy, and dry. Strong hop presence much like the smell. Simcoe and cascade would be my guess. Sweetness is very brief. It drops off quickly and makes it dry.

Mouthfeel - Never seems 12% heavy. Very well attenuated, but that has its pitfalls. Medium carbonation. Rough aftertaste.

Overall - I think I prefer the Hop Venom to this. It is a very impressive IPA for its size. Only a few breweries can pull this off, but this doesn't quite compare to things likr Ephraim.

Serving type: growler

04-16-2013 01:57:33 | More by Alieniloquium

mdaschaf

Washington

4.76/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Review from notes. Had on tap at Latona.

A: Pours a hazy orange with one finger of sudsy white head on top. Nice head retention, slowly reducing to a thin cap on top. Sheets of lacing form all around the glass.

S: Could smell this beer as soon as it was set in front of me. Tons of citrus and tropical fruits. Grapefruit, tangerine, papaya, and pineapple. There is a faint malty sweetness and a little bit of alcohol as it warms.

T: Follows the aroma with a ton of juicy citrus. More grapefruit, orange, pineapple, and tropical fruit. Very faint malt sweetness, but this one is all hops. Not overly bitter either.

M: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation. Relatively easy drinking, probably because it tastes so good. ABV surprising at 12%.

O: Wow, loved this beer. Finished my glass and ordered a second right away. Look forward to having it again.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2013 00:46:20 | More by mdaschaf

switzer

Oregon

4.88/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On tap at Apex in Portland

This beer has a lot of hype. I haven't had the younger but I've heard and read that this is a legit rival. The accolades here are just deserved. This is delicious all the way through. Entirely drinkable while only feeling the alcohol vs tasting it. It's an initial grapefruit bomb splashed with tasty hops. The hops takeover but are in no way overpowering. If it weren't for being hammered I could drink this one for quite a while and not tire of it at all. It's thick but not syrupy. Absolutely delicious and happy to have found it before it went away for the year. A must try.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2013 03:31:11 | More by switzer

flexabull

California

4.7/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

32 growlerette that my younger brought back from Bend for me, shared with him, thanks bro!

Pouts a slightly hazed gold color with a small white head.

Aromas are fantastic. Lots of pineapple, sugar, with some light floral hops and stinky resin.

Taste follows the nose. Big blast of pineapple up front, creamy, and somewhat sweet, with hard candy and sugar notes. Finish is resiny, sticky, with bitter pine, and a mixture of tropic fruits. No alcohol hints at all.

Mouthfeel is smooth, spot on carbonation, thick, but not heavy. Excellent.

Overall, superb. This beers can easily hold a candle to Pliny the Younger. While that beer was more of an assault on the taste buds and a sipper, this one is more much balanced and went down in gulps. 11.8% ABV?! Could have fooled me. Seek this one out, top notch, and brewed often enough that it isn't a pain to track down like PTY is.

Serving type: growler

03-19-2013 03:22:57 | More by flexabull

ZRBE

Oregon

4.16/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Served in a snifter at Bailey's.

First impression... Not what it was last year. Great, don't get me wrong, but things seemed to make their way to Portland much slower this year than last. This and Younger made much earlier appearances last year, and were that much more fresh.

Last year this stuff reeked of pineapple, this year its much more subdued. Much more pine coming through, the citrus is more prominent as well. A good amount of sweetness, good carb, light head. Most people in PDX have been saying it was better than PtY this year. I think the age of both is the big factor as it was the other way around last year, but I'm still inclined to agree.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2013 05:27:05 | More by ZRBE

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.34/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Growler from Main Brew. A well done TIPA is joyous experience, one I haven't had in a few years (since I last had Younger, IIRC)

A clear, burnished copper with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and moderate lacing. The nose makes me smile. Massive, juicy, pungent grapefruit, tangerine and pine hop aromatics are immediately apparent. Very, very fruity, with peach and mango buoyed by candied orange peel, weed and floral hop aromatics. Some honey and table sugar sweetness is noticeable.

The palate is great! Opening with a big, juicy, fruity grapefruit, orange, peach and some mango, this beer is loaded with hop flavor without a commensurate bitterness. Instead of bitterness, the fruity hop flavors segue into a dank, weed-like hop flavor and then, the sweeter, honey and candied citrus flavors. Some sugar is apparent in the mid-palate, lending a mild sugar syrup-like flavor to the finish. This, however, isn't to the beers detriment since this is incredibly fresh right nose, and the hop aromatics and flavor dominate. Along with this, fruity flavors and a mild pine bitterness linger on the finish. The nature of the finish is a little disappointing in that I expect my TIPAs to show a balance between (read: stuffed to the gills equally with) flavor, bitterness and oily hop resins, and in the second and third categories, this beer doesn't go happily overboard. Alcohol is shockingly well-hidden in this medium-bodied beer. The sweetness does hinder drinkability some; this isn't a beer I could drink a whole (2liter) growler of solo. Highly recommended.

Where does this beer fall in comparison to other TIPAs? IMO, this should be tied for 2nd (along with the better batches of Exponential Hoppiness) behind Younger, and a step above Brass Knuckle/ Drake's Black Label.While I have a lot of quibbles about this beer, none are serious enough to make me not wish I had a second (tiny) growler for tomorrow night.

Serving type: growler

03-03-2013 06:15:19 | More by DefenCorps

dirtylou

Washington

4.7/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

on tap, brouwers

Hot mama - this stuff is legit. Pungent tropical fruit, blood orange, mandarin, pine. On the sweet side and with enough alcohol heat to keep you honest, but this was really exceptional. Much better than hop venom, imo. Unfortunate that the kegs kick so quickly, would have loved to have more than just one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-02-2013 21:49:32 | More by dirtylou

mfavoino

Washington

4.78/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Served on tap at Saraveza in Portland on 2/23/13.

A: Light orange with a soapy-looking head that retained for a bit. Nice lacing.

S: Possibly the best smelling beer I've ever tried. Bursting with tropical fruit. Pineapple, citrus, light grass. Smells like super fresh hops.

T: Follows the nose with juicy citrus hops. Grapefruit, pineapple, citrus, and enough of a malt bill to keep things balanced. Hops don't make you pucker as it finishes and leaves the palate feeling nice and clean. So fresh tasting.

M: Medium-heavy mouthfeel, but not syrupy or overwhelming. Alcohol is very, very subtle for a beer with this high of an abv. This might be more drinkable than it should be...

O: Lives up to the hype. Not sure if it was just this batch, but I was totally blown away. Please make more of this.

Serving type: on-tap

02-28-2013 04:00:48 | More by mfavoino

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

10oz at Latona Pub

A - Served a darker orange, almost red with a foamy light tan head with decent retention and lots of lacing left on the glass.

S - Grass, alcohol, pine, orange peel.

T - Sweet dark orange, grassy, almost herbal. Alcohol heat is there, but still pretty easy drinking.

D - Decent carbonation with a medium body.

O - I finally tracked this one down, and a few days before I head to Bend. Hoppy and some alcohol heat, but a truly great Triple IPA. Get it if you can.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2013 21:11:01 | More by HuskyinPDX

writerLJBerg

Oregon

3.89/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

8 oz at Apex.

A: Orange tinted yellow with thin fluffy head. Drifting bubbles. Aced it.

N: Loads of pineapple and grapefruit. Citrus has a nice malt base. Very little pine or earth, and I'm OK with that. Clementine, mango, passionfruit.

T: Intensely sweet with tons of the aforementioned grapefruit and pineapple. Biscuit and pine in small doses. Lots of candied fruits and sugar. Bit of a letdown, but still good.

A: Heavy and sticky. Noticeable alcohol.

O: A really good TIPA, but not necessarily the top tier. Needs more earthy balance, because it's currently a bit too much. Just far too sweet; maybe the previous batches were better?

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2013 06:00:02 | More by writerLJBerg

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.94/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

This was an outstandingly good beer. Maybe the best triple IPA I've had. Had on tap at apex, this is a beer heaven.

The beer pours a nice light orange and gold color, a ring of white head.

The smell is the die for. Especially for a hop head like myself. It is just loaded with dank, dank hops. All kinds of hop aromas combine to form an amazingly appetizing and amazing aroma, I imagine they are using all kinds of northwest varietals for this. It's just so fresh and amazing.

The taste follows extremely close, it really tastes like an alpine super hoppy beer, which in my book is high praise. Super juicy citrus, plants, ganja, semi sweet malts, dank hops. Outstanding, just outstanding.

The feel is awesome and sticky, great bitterness and aftertaste.

Wow, try this if you see it, totally amazing this is first rate.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2013 09:03:59 | More by Dreadnaught33

oregonskibum

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Tasted at the brewery and from a 32 growlerette. Beer was just tapped and about as fresh as it gets.

A: poured into a snifter with a nice white head, orange-amber hue, very clear

S: Green, pine, dank resiney hops jump out of the glass. Pure expression of hop. Just hints of a sweet malty base.

T: Hops dominate early until a strong sweetness takes hold. Pleasant bready caramel malt flavors are strong in the middle, with a really long finish of more (and more) piney hops. Oh the hops really shine in this one!

M: Definitley on the heavy, slightly sweet side. But I guess that should be expected in a huge triple IPA.

O: If you like hops, then you'll like this beer. If you like big, resinous, pine flavors, then you'll love this beer. Maybe not a PtY killer, but pretty dang close and available in growlerettes to go!

Serving type: growler

02-02-2013 06:08:55 | More by oregonskibum

Arbitrator

California

4.4/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Chilled grenade (500 mL growler) into a glass. Courtesy of ramnuts and his smooth ways with the lady bartenders. Thanks, Frank!

After an especially grueling day, I cracked this bad boy at 11:30 pm (yes, I do have to be at work at 9 am tomorrow, why do you ask?).

A: Pours a clear pale golden-orange body with a half-finger of moderately retaining off-white head. Thin to nonexistent collar and scattered, broken bubbles on top of the beer.

S: Candied grapefruit, orange, and tangelo. As it warms, light pineapple and peach tease in the background. I can smell the sugar here. I know this clocks in at 12%, but I can't pick up a whiff of that on the nose. Dangerous.

T: Immensely balanced. It leads with citrusy hops, but with an undercurrent of grass that distract from the sugary malt sweetness. Make no mistake; it's an intense beer, with a lot of flavor, but it doesn't give the impression that any one flavor dominates over another. Grass becomes prominent in the finish and lingers into the aftertaste.

M: This is warming on the way down, but there's no burn the ABV and almost no syrupiness. That's where Brass Knuckle and Drake's Triple Hopocalypse fell short, in my opinion. This one easily overcomes that hurdle and delivers a fantastic mouthfeel for such an aggressive beer.

O: I hate to do this to every triple IPA that comes along, but I have to: I compare it to Pliny the Younger. Does this beat it? No. Is it an excellent, nearly-as-good alternative? Yes. Lately, given the shitshow to get Younger, I'm finding that nearly-as-good is a much better value. I'm a little surprised that there isn't more buzz over this beer, but I suspect that's because Portland is doing what Portland does best: drinking it.

Serving type: growler

06-01-2012 07:20:23 | More by Arbitrator

hopsbreath

Oregon

4.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Had on-tap at Apex (2-11). Enjoyed alongside Pliny the Younger to see if the comparison was valid. Nice tropical fruit forward nose and taste, big alcohol warming sensation lets me know to be careful, less bitterness than I expected, a touch sweeter than PtY. Very creamy beer with a slick finish. While very similar in appearance (both beers are pale gold) Notorious looks exceptional with a light amount of haze a fantastic lacing.

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2012 07:49:31 | More by hopsbreath

dlawrence

Oregon

4.83/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

When it comes to extreme IPAs the theme tends to be the more bitter the better, balance be damned. They can be fun, but I often walk away feeling like someone took a chinook flamethrower to the back of my mouth.

With notorious this is not the case. This has got to be one of the most balanced and surprisingly (dangerously) sessionable triple IPAs that I've ever had.

Serving type: hand bottle from Tony

Appearance is yellow-orange with a decent head (considering the miles traveled to Cleveland)

Aroma is dank, huge grapefruits, lots of pine, and a hint of booze.

Taste starts out by echoing the aroma with strong notes of grapefruit, pine, and a moderate hop bitterness that is backed up with what is at first only a subtly perceptible docket of honey-like malt flavors. The booze is slightly perceptible as the hop flavors fade (at 12% these liquor flavors are incredibly well hidden). The beer finishes strong with the malt flavors building to a sweet end-note that balance the lingering hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly light and dry considering the malts needed to achieve this kind of ABV.

Overall an outstanding example of the triple IPA. Delivers for the hop-heads, disguises its booze, and balances any lingering hop bitterness with a strong malt bill.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2012 04:03:37 | More by dlawrence

SirWilliam666

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This has become my fave IPA! As I say Avery's Hog Heaven is a Barley Wine for IPA lovers, this is a IPA for Barley Wine lovers! Pours a beautiful clean amber color, with a little light white head. Hop aroma fills the air as it pours. The only reason I marked the smell a little low is to leave room for true aroma brews, and the alcohol smell is a little strong if you smell it up close. The flavor is sweet, strong, caramel, smooth(hard to believe it's 12%) and lingers on the pallet. I pray if the Boneyard bottles anything, they bottle this. I would love to see how it ages!

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2011 06:10:31 | More by SirWilliam666

HopHead84

California

4.38/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12/03/2011

On tap at Strong Ale 2011.

A: Yellow gold with an inch of white foam.

S: Apricot blends with peach, mango, and passion fruit. Alcohol is light. The hop profile is bright and fresh, with a little underlying bready malt character. Floral hops emanate from the glass.

T: Sweet citrus, reminiscent of apricot, orange, and grapefruit flesh with lighter rind notes. For 12% the alcohol is dangerously well hidden, until the finish that is. Malt imparts a little bread, sweetness, and caramel.

M: Medium in body with upper medium carbonation.

Overall: This is quite good. For the high ABV you'd expect it to be sweet and malty (especially coming from Oregon) but it's pretty dry.

Serving type: on-tap

12-05-2011 18:07:37 | More by HopHead84

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.38/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a yellowish orange with a nice white cap

S: Nose is big pine, citrus but tons or orange peel, grapefruit and some booze

T: Big amounts of pine, grapefruit and orange peel. Very sweet, caramel, acidic and stinging. Lots of hops but no way I get 12%. Lots of flavor.

M: Medium body, pretty oily not as bad as some big IIPAs I have had.

O: A huge hop forward beer as it should be. I personally thought Hop Venom was a bit more well rounded and just as tasty/hop forward

Serving type: on-tap

12-03-2011 02:25:42 | More by barleywinefiend

Elimination

Oregon

4.6/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A beer like this is exactly the name. Notorious...

Huge blasting orange with a bit of dull shading in the center. Thick juicy white head just grabbing onto the glass.

Smell of strong grapefruit, pine sap, a bit of juniper. Smell of warn liquor and a bit of woody character, oak like and some sour apple

Taste bursts with grapefruit and sticky pine needles The alcohol presents itself not as harsh or bitter but more like a well rounded tequila. Has a sweet aftertaste that coats the tongue with more tropical citrus that stays with you

This beer is big thick and in your face. One of the best of those huge ipa's that everyone loves. Just hope it comes back around again.

Serving type: on-tap

09-20-2011 01:24:42 | More by Elimination

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Belmont Station the other day.

The beer pours a peachy gold color with good head retention and lacing. The beer certainly looks pretty good, but then I stuck my beak in the glass. Mama mia!!! On the nose I get an outrageous aroma of dank weed, huge pine, and dry citrus. This is one impressive smelling DIPA. The flavor profile replicates the nose in this "West Coast" all the way DIPA. The beer is pretty dry as DIPA's go, with just enough sweet malt and tropical fruit to balance the avalanche of hoppy goodness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and it's nothing short of amazing how light on its feet this beer is. Yet for all that, this beer is also a bit thick and viscuous on the palate. Otherwise, this beer drinks like a DIPA with considerably less alcohol, though the numbing sensation I experienced after just a single glass was a tip off that the alcohol was up there a bit.

Just an absolutely superb DIPA from the folks at Boneyard. This beer reminds me very much of the outstanding Ephraim from Hill Farmstead. Very, very impressive.

Edit from 4/13. The new batch is out, and if anything, it's even better than the previous batch I had (no small feat). The current batch seems to have a bit more tropical fruit and an amazing sauterne flavor that I just love. I thought there a bit less pine on the nose, but there's still plenty of dank week and wet earth, which was plenty good enough to keep this hophead happy. What's truly amazing about this beer, however, is how well the alcohol is hidden. There's no heat whatsoever on the finish, and the light mouthfeel to this beer is nothing short of extraordinary.

While still not in the same class as PTY (IMHO), this is the first beer I can recall having where I think it's something folks can argue about.. Yes, it really is THAT good!

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2011 15:59:39 | More by johnmichaelsen

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.7/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Comes out of the tap a pretty clear golden amber with a typical off-white head. Aroma is EXTREMELY hoppy and evergreen with a surprising honey-sweet undertone. Drinking this beer is like drinking one of Oregon’s famous Douglas firs - it is seriously evergreen, yet has almost no bitterness and is rather sweet. Thick, smooth, mildly fizzy texture leaves an evergreen and subtly sweet finish.

Serving type: on-tap

07-10-2011 01:19:42 | More by Cyberkedi

chumba526

Oregon

4.6/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appears solid clear gold with a small white head.

It smells of resinous hops. I get an earthy grassy dank smell. A bit of a floral smell and a mild citrus hop smell is noticeable I smell almost no malty flavor except for a mild sweet smell.

It tastes of dank hops. I get a floral and grassy flavor a mild orange like flavor and a bit of a pine like hop flavor. The beer has a bit of malty sweetness but for the alcohol content it is quite dry. The beer ends with a substantial amount of bitterness that is not over the top.

The mouthfeel is somewhat syrupy.

Overall a great triple IPA. Unlike many triple IPAs this is not that sweet and it is somewhat light. This beer does a great job showcasing a plethora of hop flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

07-03-2011 20:57:02 | More by chumba526

LordAdmNelson

Ohio

4.43/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Hand bottle from Tony.

This is a pretty crazy beer, a really interesting take on the triple IPA. Pours lighter than I expected, a tawny gold color, RPM IPA looks like a red ale next to this one! Pure white head bubbles up, a nice looking beer, though not what I was expecting for a triple IPA... cool!

Nose is hops hops hops. The hop bill reminds me a bit of RPM, and with the flavor, this beer could be an approximate triple of RPM. Which is awesome. Some of the solventy hop aromas are there, reminding me that this is indeed a triple IPA (Founder's Devil Dancer comes to mind for these aromas). Flavor is remarkably hoppy, but so hoppy that it kind of stuns the palate, making the beer seem less hoppy... does that make sense? Nicely carbonated, giving the beer a light refreshing feel. This is a really hoppy brew, focusing on the piney-herbal-floral side (I think), but definitely drinkable too. At 12%, this guy drinks like 7%, which is amazing.

It's nice to try a triple IPA that drinks like an IPA and not one of the more laborious, sticky sweet TIPAs out there. Nice one here!

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2011 15:19:24 | More by LordAdmNelson

jdense

Oregon

4.43/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Boneyard Tasting Room, 6.13.11, multiple samples.

Bright white head, fairly quick dissipation, above average lacing. Deep gold clear body, multiple streams of carbonation. Nose is a slight bit more tropical than citrus, bready malts. Big hop blast up front in the taste, not overwhelmingly hop forward like a lot of other triple IPAs, re the Younger and that god awful Founders version. Mouthfeel is medium not a lot of effervescence. Dangerously drinkable, I had a hard time picking up any alcohol heat, which was a major surprise. I don't expect the growler of this I bring to PDX BA Beer Camp this weekend will last more than a couple of minutes. I wish all high ABV IPAs were this drinkable. This is a really good beer. Worth seeking out--or coming to Bend for!

EDIT-Bumped smell score up. Other than the Barley Brown's Head Shake, this is the closest thing aroma-wise to PP Poor Man's.

Serving type: on-tap

06-14-2011 18:28:50 | More by jdense