Evil Twin - Heretic Brewing Company

brentk56

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a hazy russet with a perky cap that leaves a nice pattern behind

Smell: Hop forward, though well balanced; the earthy and piney hops are underpinned by an intriguing blend of toffee and toasted bread

Taste: The interplay between the hops and the malts distinguishes this beer; with the toffee and toasted bread interspersed with with earthy and piney hops; the blend creates a complex malt base that avoids sweetness and a hop blend that is nicely bitter without every developing a citrusy edge (not that I dislike citrusy bitterness)

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: It is not everyday that I get excited about a beer in this genre but this beer breaks some new ground in both the malt and hop dimensions; kudos to the brewers at Heretic

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2012 00:53:09 | More by brentk56

HarmonMW

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -6%

05-13-2013 22:11:48 | More by HarmonMW

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.73/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours brown with a large head.
Nose shows herbal, spicy and piny hops along with some biscuity malt and a minty note.
Very similar flavours: herbal, minty and piny hops alongside some toasty malt hidden underneath followed by a sharp, aggressive bitterness.
Carbonation is a little over the top.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:22:16 | More by CrazyDavros

Proclarush

Rhode Island

4/5  rDev +0.3%

05-09-2013 02:04:29 | More by Proclarush

Theosphere

California

3.25/5  rDev -18.5%

05-08-2013 21:15:04 | More by Theosphere

magictacosinus

California

3.36/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Thanks for the bottle, John. Poured into a nonic pint glass from a 22oz bottle. Split with another person. Bottled on "03/04/13."

Pours a deep, dark reddish color with light amber streaks at the edges, in an almost opaque appearance until held towards the light. Carbonation is plentiful at first, with pockets sticking around the inner edges, as well as an initial 3-4 finger of head that dies down to about a ring with bubbles on top. Lacing is alright. Looks a lot like a decent homebrew, to be perfectly honest.

At the nose, there's an immediate burst of strongly roasted malty aromas, as well as alcohol soaked floral and slightly herbal hops. Slight notes of red berries, maybe apples arise. Smells a lot like a rather toned down American Strong Ale, in fact, without the aggressive hops or graininess, and instead comes off as part the classic rising West Coast red ales - maybe even Scottish-style red ales - coming around. For what it's worth, the hops ARE slightly muted, and there's a strong syrupy sweetness that definitely is a bit strong overall.

The flavor is luckily a little less intense, and rather than the hops smelling muted or too overblown with the alcohol, they are still very lively up to this point and add balance to the rather large malt profile. Blood oranges are one flavor as a result, but I'm getting light raspberries, apples, and toasted grains right at the finish combined with caramel. The malts are large enough but not to the point where they become predominant, and the hops contain a pretty long lasting astringency in the aftertaste. Slightly boozy and soapy towards the finish as well, and with all sad, sort of thinned as well in spite of the malts. It's not a bad aftertaste, but it isn't the most pleasant kind.

A solid local red ale, if only lacking a bit in body and balance. It's almost like it wants to be a stronger ale but doesn't ever get there, which leads to a frustrating ascension of big flavors that never gives up or turns to anything else. I'm glad I split this, because it's a little too astringent, maybe even acrid, to have all by myself. Pairing this with food is highly recommended. It's a strong American red, but not my favorite so far in the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 02:27:37 | More by magictacosinus

pkalix

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

super dark red, browninsh even. minimal head.
smell is pine. maybe some toffee, if you might....
taste is a bitter pine tar. almost a bitter kind of sweetness to it which lasts a bit after swallowing.
overall, i guess it's your typical 'red ale' from the west coast. hops over power the malts, bitter pine is the dominat aroma and flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 02:04:39 | More by pkalix

gpogo

California

4.3/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Dark amber with a red tint when light hits it. Tan foam head and a sparse lacing.

A- Citrus and pine hops with a light touch of chocolate.

T- Chocolate and citrusy hops, nice bitterness throughout. Nice malty flavor.

M- Medium body very smooth and clean tasting.

D- This is a wonderful beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 19:29:03 | More by gpogo

MrGone

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-25-2013 06:51:58 | More by MrGone

alpenglocken

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-02-2013 23:36:05 | More by alpenglocken

mhaugo

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-02-2013 04:58:14 | More by mhaugo

dertyd

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

03-31-2013 07:33:34 | More by dertyd

Beerswag

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

03-21-2013 20:40:52 | More by Beerswag

GuzzLah

Illinois

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

A - pours a hazy dark brown-red with a tan head and no lace. Too dark to see any bubbles.

S - nice aroma of citrus and soft pine hops with a mild chocolate malt character and a hint of roast.

T - is just like the aroma. Very nicely balanced flavor. Nothing is individually extreme, but all the flavors complement each other very well. The aroma suggests you are about to drink a fairly bitter Imperial Red, but the flavor is malt forward with a pleasant hoppiness that saves it from being a sweet malt bomb. Basically perfect for the style.

M - medium-full with an average carbonation for the style. Soft bitterness with a medium sustain supported by chocolate roasted malt.

O - super impressed with my first Heretic beer even though I secretly wanted to say it was meh. The brewer was a top notch, award winning homebrewer who recently turned pro. He has educated a legion of homebrewers . I've learned quite a bit from him over the years and his generous sharing of knowledge has enabled me and many others to brew quality beer. Thank you Jamil, for this beer and for everything you've done for home brewing.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 01:04:33 | More by GuzzLah

LSMroz

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -6%

03-14-2013 05:29:05 | More by LSMroz

BGsWo22

New York

3/5  rDev -24.8%

03-09-2013 20:11:27 | More by BGsWo22

Bnoise11

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

03-08-2013 18:09:46 | More by Bnoise11

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a dark reddish mahogany amber with a two finger light tan head with good retention and lacing. Nicely aromatic pine and lightly citrus hops, sweet malt and citrus. Flavor is a well melded caramel malt and piney hops, citrus and light fruit juice. Finishes with lingering citrus and earthy hops. Very nice medium body with great creaminess. A very pleasant and well made red ale. I'm particularly impressed because I forgot this at the back of the refrigerator for several months and was expecting the hops to be destroyed. Despite my neglect, the hops are aromatic and great tasting. I'll have to amend for my error by getting another bottle of this to try even fresher hops. I will also watch for other ales from Heretic.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2013 04:58:43 | More by LiquidAmber

Paige

California

3.75/5  rDev -6%

02-26-2013 11:06:49 | More by Paige

jesus808

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

02-16-2013 09:39:08 | More by jesus808

Texasfan549

Texas

4/5  rDev +0.3%

02-13-2013 17:06:11 | More by Texasfan549

kjkinsey

Texas

4/5  rDev +0.3%

02-13-2013 00:15:58 | More by kjkinsey

Johnnyramirez

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

02-05-2013 14:49:56 | More by Johnnyramirez

SmashPants

Australia

4.13/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottle: big 650mL dark brown bottle, funky and funky, 'dark' label. A good package.

Appearance: very, very impressive. A quality, copper-red colour with a good three-finger head on top. Head drops to one-finger with fantastic lacing and great staying power. Carbonation looks mid leveled. Enticing!

Aroma: a highly hopped aroma - grapefruit citric and lemon, with a good dose of pine. Good United States hops. A light but noticeable caramel / bread malt backs up.

Taste: follows the nose very closely, with extra emphasis on the pine hops and sweet malts. A fantastic, mouth-filling beer.

Aftertaste: lingers for a good long while - this really is a fantastic beer. Good for a sessional wipe-out, or for a lonely sipper. Great quality.

Mouth feel: medium in body with a moderate but fine carbonation. Carries the flavour through nicely. Topping the glass up resets the great head too.

Overall: a great quality American red, one of the best I've had. Full in flavour without being overly hopped, reasonably expensive at AU$12-15 a bottle (2013), but hey - you get what you pay for.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 13:08:11 | More by SmashPants

brotherloco

California

3.75/5  rDev -6%

01-28-2013 02:07:51 | More by brotherloco