Evil Cousin - Heretic Brewing Company

heartofgold

California

4.97/5  rDev +28.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is a beer that you need to try if you are a PtE fan.

This beer pours with an amber color betraying its true composition. the nose though reminds you of the territory you are in...pine and grapfruit dominate At the first sip, the malt is the first thing to hit...then it is the mouthfeel...then a looong lingering and smooth hop finish that I suspect may involve some extracts (would love to know)...

I was very surprised when I had this for the first time. It is a top beer for me now. Jamil, great job.

Serving type: on-tap

10-05-2011 04:51:21 | More by heartofgold

Hatzilla

California

4.55/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Clear amber pour a with a fluffy one inch head, leaving some nice lace.

S - Smells similar to Tricerahops. Big earthy hops with lots of mango, pine, grapefruit, pineapple and caramel malts.

T - Sticky, piney citrus hops with a solid malt backbone. Very tasty.

M - Medium carbonation with an oily mouthfeel and a dry finish. Alcohol is well hidden.

O - This bottle was recommended by my local Bevmo! beer guy - Thanks Kyle!

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 01:39:12 | More by Hatzilla

largadeer

California

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Clear pale gold body with a large white head that has lasting power.

Incredibly skunky nose, pretty much smells like a joint at first. It opens up with a nice peach-like fruitiness, slight tropical notes and a bit of onion. Malt is faint, contributing a subtle sweetness to support the hops.

The palate offers more of the same. Very herbal, weedy, oniony with some fruitiness that balances things out. Peach, pineapple, plenty of sticky resiny bitterness. Quite dry, moreso than the nose implies, and fairly light bodied. The finish leaves a strong lingering marijuana flavor; it's pretty hilarious how similar it tastes to a joint.

This is surprisingly good stuff, hugely hoppy but also fairly unique in a saturated style.

Serving type: on-tap

02-03-2012 02:20:12 | More by largadeer

jlapennas

New York

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Aroma: Dank as advertised. Lots of CTZ-type character, herbal, weed, dank, resinous. Background malty sweetness without much character beyond that. Very intense aroma as this bottle is less than 2 weeks old. Clean fermentation character allows the hops to shine.

Appearance: Medium-dark golden color. Very clear. Thick head, small dense bubbles. Looks great.

Flavor: Follows aroma very closely. Not too much fruity stuff going on from hops - totally committed to dankness. Some garlicy/onion stuff going on but not over the top. Hop flavor throughout. Malt provides more balance than I expected but the hops are still very "in your face". Bitter and resinous without being harsh. Dry finish.

Mouthfeel: Richer than expected. Medium + body. Creamy.

Overall: Great beer. Dedicated to a single purpose. Depending on your hop preferences, this is either a great beer or well made but not to your tastes. I'm impressed.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2012 18:49:07 | More by jlapennas

jbowers56

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Quite pale for the style and somewhat cloudy. A white head that laces well.

Very impressive aroma. Hugely dank - big notes of pine, lime and tropical fruits suggested by the combination of hops and malt.

Followed up very well in the taste. All those elements work in harmony with a subtle malt base underpinning it all. Very firm, but smooth bitterness which works very well in the context of the flavours and cleans the sweetness up very well.

Viscous enough to feel substantial, but still relatively light bodied. High bitterness helps to give this feeling, I think, but i'd hazard a guess that this is reasonably well attenuated.

I really, really enjoy this IPA. It's not a 'wow' factor beer, but it's exceptionally well made and is a benchmark of all major characters that should be embodied by this style.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 14:53:42 | More by jbowers56

JesseLara

California

4.43/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I hit the Hofbräu tonight knowing Heretic brewing was on tap for pint night. I've had the Evil Twin before and enjoyed it so I was hoping I was in for more of the same, and I was not disappointed.

Solid 1 inch head on the pour.

Aroma was solid citrus, heavy orange, some grapefruit. Nice.

SDIPA!!

Solid double IPA, hoptastic! Stuck in the back if my throat with heavy heavy pine notes.

If you like hops, you'll like Evil Cousin. Solid contender for one of my favorite hoppy beers.

Looking forward to the Torment!

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2012 03:24:43 | More by JesseLara

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A-dark gold with a thick stable cream colored head

S-fairly hoppy with a soapy herbal resin. Somewhat stale. Strong scent. 

T-comes in with a strong taste of hops and high quality herbal grains. It's has a bitterness that slowly develops but becomes
Strong and lingers for awhile, a long while. It's actually a very awesome taste. I imagine this would even be decent aged, as the flavor I feel relies more on the grains than the hops. 

M-medium creamy carbonation with a crisp finish

O-this is a very well rounded IPA. This will please any hophead. The flavor is subtly complex, yet the bitterness isn't so subtle. 

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 01:42:23 | More by AdamBear

ngeunit1

California

4.33/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a almost clear copper orange with a finger of frothy white head atop. The head fades down at a very slow pace leaving behind some good lace.

S - Aroma is full of lots of citrus hops and grapefruit with some pine and some sweet caramel and biscuit malt.

T - Starts off with some strong citrus and candied grapefruit hops with some strong bitterness and some sweet caramel malts. Through the middle some resiny pine hop comes through with some more bitterness and some biscuit malt. The finish is a mix of candied grapefruit hops and pine hops with some sweet malts and bitterness lingering.

M - Medium full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a bitter and dry finish.

D - Very drinkable. Really big DIPA with tons of hops. Nice hop profile, with strong bitterness throughout.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2012 04:47:19 | More by ngeunit1

Nugganooch

California

4.22/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Notes from 09/23/11
On tap at Stone Bistro
*Served into a goblet

A: Evil Cousin pours a clear caramel color with a thin layer of khaki foam at the brim. Nice stained glass window treatment.

S: Smells of tangy fruity hops. Citrus. A touch of sugary pale malts.

T: Tastes pretty darn danky with citrus and grapefruit oils up front. Resiny sticky pine. Tangy exotic fruits and a some grapevine even. Swear there is use of some Nelson hops in here. A caramel nutty sweet malt base. Slight alcohol chest warmth. This is pretty tasty stuff. Herbalicious.

M: Light creamy texture for a DIPA and a nice resiny mouthcoat with a bit of a dry crisp finish.

D: A very nicely balanced and well hopped DIPA.

Pretty darn good and I was drinking this next to some Pliny. Would def order again...in fact I did.

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2011 20:17:25 | More by Nugganooch

MNishCT77

District of Columbia

4.2/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

22 oz. bottle purchased at Ales Unlimited in San Francisco, CA, bottled on 3/11/13, poured into a hotel style glass and drank over ~30 minutes.

A: 4.5 - amber-brown coloration, could read blurrily through, white full-finger head subdues into subtle glass lacing, moderate alcohol legs for a 8% beer

S: 4.5 - pretty dank notes all around, lots of pine and cat piss from Simcoe, I'm sure; big time DIPA

T: 4 - the taste is pretty appropriate for the aroma; on the front of the tongue, there is a slap of bitterness that has an impressive lingering quality; in the middle of the tongue, the hop-forward qualities predominate - lots of pine, drank bittnerness, which continues to linger through the entire aftertaste

M: 4.25 - big, chewy qualities c/w a DIPA; nice alcohol notes

O: 4.25 - as much as I love Zamil, this beer is only a moderate imperial IPA that doesn't live up to some of the best imperial IPAs; I was unfortunately expecting more; Avery's Maharaja and Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum have similar notes but this falls short in comparison to those beers

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 06:15:57 | More by MNishCT77

flannelman808

California

4.18/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: pale amber orange in color and topped with a pretty decent off white head. Head retention is alright and lacing is notably good.

S: orange peel and tangerine pulp suggest themselfs on the nose. Just an afterthought of rock candy finishes up the bouquet.

T: this is a pretty darn nice beer I'm pleasantly surprised. Green pine needle and orange pith show up with good bitterness. Dried candied citrus adds notes add in, as well as a faint suggestion of grain driven almost oatmeal sweetness. This is really quite bitter overall. Well done.

M: prickly and carbonic.

O: fruit on the nose and bitter on the palate, this fits the bill for a great DIPA. Sweet Malty flavors do not outweigh the suggestive force of hopping. My neg on this is it's lack of focus. Flavors are muddled and while it's in the right spectrum it misses the truly expressive nature which hops can provide. Then again im not sure how old this is. Either way a job well done!

Serving type: on-tap

01-05-2012 23:56:56 | More by flannelman808

dansmcd

Australia

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Huge rocky head, sticky and chunky globules adorn the glass and dont fade. Body is a murky apricot.

S - Grapefruit and pine hops, not overly strong on the nose.

T - Bitter citrus peel, mandarin, orange, apricot and lime. All hops.

M - Slick and oily, resinous, full and punchy. Good stuff.

O - Probably at the tamer end of DIPAs but that's alright with me. Very enjoyable, hoppy beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 08:54:45 | More by dansmcd

MacHeadBeer

California

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was a gift, so unsure as to the price paid or value for the price.

Overall a good IPA, but a little weak for a DIPA. I was expecting something stronger in ABV and flavor with a name like Evil Cousin. But overall, a good beer that I would gladly drink again.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 19:51:07 | More by MacHeadBeer

gonuts31

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Got this in as an extra from a trade with alwaysanswerb, thanks!

A- Pours amber, orange with a foamy, bubbly 1 finger head. Looks delicious

S- Holy hops!!! Has that "dank" hop smell like it says on the bottle.

T- Like it smells, I wish all IPAs had a hint of that "dank"ness. Tastes like I dipped a hop in the beer and took a bite. Man that's great.

M- Smooth, not too thick. Goes down easy.

O- Wouldn't be able drink this all night, but when I pop a bottle that says this is for hop heads and it delivers I get excited. Hope to come across this one sometime again, real soon!

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 01:13:59 | More by gonuts31

roccotuna

California

4.05/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Creekside Brewing.

A - very clear amber/orange. Served with one finger head with very small bubbles.

S - Heavy grapefruit, other citrus. some pepper, dank. I'm not under the impression that this beer has been dry hopped more than Evil Twin, though.

T - Taste matches smell a la Evil Twin, but this beer is much more bitter. Again, exploding with grapefruit but the increased bitterness seems to have overwhelmed some of the hop flavor.

M - Awesome! Medium body, but carbonation is dialed in on this one that makes for a creamy head that really suits the brew.

Great beer, but I prefer Evil Twin.

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2011 20:37:41 | More by roccotuna

brotherloco

California

4.05/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz bomber. No date. Served in a tulip.

Pours a hazy amber with 2 fingers of off-white foam. Lingers for awhile. Some big swaths of lacing left in the glass.

Pretty intense caramel malt aroma. Slightly bready. Accompanied by a lot of tropical fruit and citrus from the hops. No real sign of alcohol.

Flavor isn't as sweet as I was expecting from the nose. Malt is bready and sits in the background. Hops have some more character too. Citrus is there but is joined by grassy, earthy, definitely dank notes. More hop flavor than bitter feel. Finish is mildly dry with continuing medium bitterness. The edges are nicely rounded here. No real alcohol flavor.

Both body and carbonation slip right below medium and keep things moving nicely. Drinking faster than I should.

This is my first Heretic beer and I'm definitely impressed!

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 05:27:00 | More by brotherloco

OBeerMeGreatOne

California

4.05/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours out with a ton of carbonation. The body is honey colored with a pretty intense off-white head. The lacing left behind is mediocre.

The smell starts with pine and some caramel. Yeast comes in next, which is a slight turn off.

The taste is nice and hoppy, without being offensive. Pine hits hard at both the start and finish. Slight caramel and light malts come in the middle, but this is a hop monster of a brew. The mouth could use less carbonation.

Overall, I could drink this on occasion and be satisfied, but it isn't balanced enough to hit the top of my list.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 04:20:21 | More by OBeerMeGreatOne

TheGordianKnot

Tennessee

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Much thanks to inflatablechair for the Heretic hookup! Having been wanting to try Jamil's beers since his professional announcement...

A- Deep copper orange. About 2 and a half fingers of large volley head. Off white head in color with some layered lacing on the glass.

S- Wow, dank tropical fruity awesomeness. Mango, apple, oranges, with some grassy hops and caramel malt. Faintly pungent and hop forward.

T/M- Very bitter and great. Has a nice earthy, piney almost fried chicken flavor- Simcoe in this?. Hops are on the aggressive side with light fruits and some floral components. Very resinous and musty and dirty. Pretty big palate killer, fuck I'm glad we saved this for last! Medium body, but this is pungent and potent.

O- Wow, the reviews are incredibly polarizing on this! I understand how some people get the garlic and onion as one person whom I shared this with mentioned those flavors, but I didn't think it was near as bad or offputting as others. Yeah, I may enjoy fruity/tropical DIPAs more, but this was a fun to drink, hop assault...

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 15:21:20 | More by TheGordianKnot

srandycarter

California

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Murky copper, big head, slow to leave, lots of cling.

S - Something skanky. I can't figure it out. Like bad fruit. Don't know if I like it or not.

T - Yep, skanky grapefruit. Not bad, but weird. Lots of malt too. Nice bittering at finish.

M - Medium body, good carb, good balance.

D - Very easy to drink, though the grapefruit might get old eventually.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 02:41:08 | More by srandycarter

Mark

California

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This Imperial IPA went down way too easy. The high abv really sneaks up on you. deep amber color, not as dark as Evil Twin. good lace is present. nice typical west coast IPA flavors of fruit and pine. A good solid DIPA and one that is frankly very drinkable. I would have to say that Evil Twin is a better brew though.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2011 19:10:59 | More by Mark

codsmith

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: hazy medium gold with decent white head that laces the glass nicely.

S: not overly hoppy on the nose. You can really smell the sweetness of the malts coming through.

T: it has a heavy and nice hop taste. grain and hops mix nicely and leaves you with a slight bitterness.

M: medium to heavy mouthfeel.

O: nicely balanced.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2012 03:26:36 | More by codsmith

GONZALOYANNA

Spain

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap. ½ Pint glass. Enjoyed @ Cervecería Freiburg on jun´12 –the whole band was there: Manolo,Robert & Juanjo. Honey yellow color, foggy appearance. White, rocky & copious, froth. Lasting crown, spots on sides. Crystal malt & intense hop aromas. Increasing sharp bitterness at first sip then crystal malts balance the flavor & provides smooth & voluptuous palate. Medium to full body, moderate to low carbonation. Oily & creamy texture, cheese-like. Fruity touch in the middle. Long resiny finish. Flavorful.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2012 02:10:46 | More by GONZALOYANNA

claspada

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a light amber in color with a finger of soapy white head, that leaves some .

Aromas begin quite "dank" to say the least. The hop profile is very grassy and vegetal, this has got to have Simcoe hops in it. There is a fair bit of accompanying sweet malt, mostly bready, but the hops own this show with lemon, orange rind and light grapefruit joining the earthy hops.

The tastes follow the nose but reverse like most DIPAs, sweet bready malts open but are immediately overtaken by the floral, grassy and piney hop flavors. A mild bitterness of pine and citrus peel are also present throughout. It sits somewhere between a West Coast and East Coast flavor profile; the malts definitely take a seat to the hops, but the hops used aren't tremendously citrusy and grapefruity but share the floor with the earthy, floral and vegetal hops.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. The finish is dry and slightly bitter from the assault of hops yet not a palate wrecker compared to many West Coast examples.

Overall, I enjoyed my second go with Jamil and the Heretic brewery. Not my favorite example of the style by any means because I tend to avoid super "dank" tasting DIPAs, but I am surprised that I actually like it quite a bit. Flavor profile-wise I compare this to a Founders Devil Dancer Lite. Heretic is a great up-and-coming brewery and I will continue to support Jamil until he disappoints.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2012 00:54:57 | More by claspada

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.96/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a DFH IPA glass. Brewed 11 February 2013.

A: Light head fades quickly. The beer is a hazy amber.

S: Massive amounts of Simcoe-ish hops hit first, full of onion and sharp citrus. Underneath, there are more pleasantly fruity notes, but the main element is still earthy and bright.

T/M: Much maltier than anticipated. Sweet oranges and subtle pine don't quite prepare for the aggressively bitter endtaste and dry aftertaste. A mostly sweet/fruity taste with a hopbomb right at the end.

O: I liked this beer, but it wasn't necessarily well-constructed, and I doubt it would find wide appeal. Would have again if I didn't see anything else around.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 07:30:30 | More by AgentMunky

Drinkerofales

California

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours cloudy gold, with amber hints, topped by a huge light ecru head that retains well and leaves plenty of thick lacing.

Smell is pungent and "dank"(as the bottle says), but smells malty, and boozy.

Taste is very hoppy however. Starts earthy, moves to citrus and floral with a mellow bitter finish.

The body leans towards medium, with some viscosity. Still remains pretty drinkable, and though the booze is present in the texture, it's not detracting.

Enjoyable, and complex hop flavors. The wife and I like this one pretty good.

DOA

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 22:52:46 | More by Drinkerofales