Evil Cousin - Heretic Brewing Company

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

ccrida

Oregon

3/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On draught at the Church Key, Evil Cousin is hazy, glowing orange with a small white head leaving light white lace.

Smell is sweet malt and citrus hops.

Taste is pretty generic, woodys, resinous hops, firm bitterness, decent malt backbone.

Mouthfeel is oily, dry, chewy, medium heavy bodied.

Drinkability is fine, I just found this to be boring.

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2012 01:25:41 | More by ccrida

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

UCLABrewN84

California

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Library Alehouse in Santa Monica, CA.

Pours a clear honey orange with an off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Thick foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of citrus zest, grapefruit, herbal hops, and a slight vegetal onion aroma. Taste is very much the same even down to the onion. There is a medium level of bitterness with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but the onion quality throws me off a bit.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2012 07:10:22 | More by UCLABrewN84

sholland119

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Stone, 11/7/11. Jamil's books and podcasts have done so much to improve my homebrews i was very pleased to get a chance to try one of his.

A-Pour is a pale golden honey with a thin white head that leaves good sticky lacing.

S-Earthy hops, a bit light with a good malt base.

T-Strong bitterness throughout tends to overwhelm a solid malt base. A bit unbalanced for me.

M-Medium bodied, lots of lingering bitterness.

O-Solid, unspectacular. Glad to get a chance to try it.

HV

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 14:47:36 | More by sholland119

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

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

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

MrTopher

California

3.15/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Served in a goblet at Stone World Bistro.

A – Rich caramel color getting close to a light copper color but not that dark and dank. Small off white head forms and leaves a decent lacing.

S – Pretty decent hop profile, but wasn’t well developed. Some citrus hops and some sweet malt.

T – Interesting, and a little similar to the smell. Some citrus hops, a little grapefruit, and a slight pine as well. The malt sweetness added a little where the hops left you wanting more.

M – A little thicker than other DIPAs, but still respectable. Carbonation was decent also.

O – Wasn’t expecting much since I knew little about the brewery, but now knowing its more of an east coast DIPA I can see where it is more malt forward.

Serving type: on-tap

10-24-2011 19:16:59 | More by MrTopher

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

womencantsail

California

3.15/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On-tap at Beachwood Brewing

A: The beer pours amber in color with a finger of white head, minimal lacing to go with it.

S: The hop profile is very grassy and a bit vegetal. Not what I was expecting. There is a fair bit of sweet malt, mostly in the form of bread. Hints of citrus, mostly orange rind.

T: Unfortunately, the flavor is also very grassy, and still a bit vegetal. Some sweet malt (bread and light caramel). A mild bitterness of pine and citrus peel.

M: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.

O: Talk about disappointing. Hopefully this was just an old keg. I'll look to try this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2011 22:40:08 | More by womencantsail

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

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

HopHead84

California

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

9/10/2011

On tap at Stone.

A: Dark orange with perfect clarity. The head is a collar of white foam half an inch in height. Retention is decent and there's just a little lacing.

S: Strong pine notes with pervasive grapefruit rind and flesh. Orange flesh is evident. Malt is lightly sweet with notes of bread and caramel. The beer gives the impression of balance. Alcohol is evident, and there's a little onion.

T: Dank pine resin with a lot of grapefruit. Upper moderate bitterness with a solid caramel and biscuit backbone. The bitterness is very dry. A little onion is present in the flavor. Finishes malty and alcoholic.

M: Medium in body with upper moderate carbonation. The mouthfeel is dry and sticky.

Overall: Heavier on the malt than I like and I'm not the biggest fan of onion, but still a solid beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-10-2011 23:12:54 | More by HopHead84

billshmeinke

California

3.83/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Blue Palms.

Poured into a goblet.

Clear honey golden body, served with a finger of head. Retention and lacing are good as well.

Resin, tobacco, weed, a very herbaceous and earthy nose. Malt presence takes a back seat, only expressing itself as a light sweet biscuity note.

Taste follows the nose. Dank, bitter, resinous. A hint of apricot/grapefruit as well. Malt presence is a little bigger in the taste, grainy and a slight honey sweetness. Finish is all resin bitterness though.

The mouthfeel is where it really shines. Nice and crisp carbonation, high end of medium bodied, but almost feels light. Finish is quite dry.

First offering I have had from heretic, and I will for sure be trying more.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2011 05:15:05 | More by billshmeinke

magictacosinus

California

3.7/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a tulip glass from a 22oz bottle. Given to me as a gift with Evil Twin about 2 weeks ago. No freshness or bottling date on the bottle, nevertheless. Grrr!!

Pours a clear, amber orange color complete with a large, thickened white head. I split this (as I usually do with bombers) and ended up getting some of the remaining sediment at the bottom into my glass, which actually substantially clouded up the beer. Carbonation is barely visible within the glass, although the head lasts almost forever and leaves behind a good amount of lacing. Sticky and oily in appearance. Despite the cloudy surprise, pretty solid.

The initial aroma reveals initial fruity hoppy phenols, ranging from mangoes, oranges, and lime, but it quickly changes as it warms up. While the initial smell is quite pleasant and fruit-forward, it soon becomes replaced with a piney, dry hopped astringency nearly makes the nostrils tingle each time. There's a brief touch of toffee malts, and perhaps a bit of graininess that adds a solid backbone to all the hops, but as soon as the alcohol creeps in, it gets far stronger. They weren't joking on the label that this was "aggressively" dry hopped - it nearly numbs all of the other aspects of the beer, which is only forgivable with the resinous, fruity flavors it produces.

The flavor is immediately met with an astringent, zesty bitterness from the hops, as well a robust sticky, syrupy malty backbone. In the early stages, it appears to be a solid DIPA, but as soon the aftertaste comes around, it quickly turns out to be very astringent, almost to the point of assaulting the palate with acidic, bittered resin. The orange, grapefruit flavors are a classic profile here as far as West Coast IPAs go, and while I *should* be used to the highly astringent finish in these types of beers by now, something throws me off here. Is it too syrupy? Is the alcohol way too present, almost to the point of making this a difficult drinking experience? Not too sure, and while the hope profile is fully lively, it does throw off the other flavors. The syrupy character makes this an easy drinking experience, and the carbonation is great here - totally solved compared to Evil Twin. Flavorful, but maybe needed some pruning.

This is a pretty straightforward West Coast DIPA, but there's definitely lacking a strive for balance here, no matter how great of a job the hops are doing. Based on this beer, I know for sure that these guys might start churning more interesting things in the future if they are to expand their selection... For the price, this is a good go-to DIPA option, but only if I'm looking for one that slightly locks me in the jaw in the process.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 06:31:40 | More by magictacosinus

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

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

3.3/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

22oz non-dated bottle from Bev Mo.

Pours hazy, dark copper with a thin, whitish head that dissipated to a few whisps on the surface. A few dots of lacing if you look for it.

Aromatics lead off with stale malt, wet cardboard, and faded, piney hops. Plenty of old caramel and dusty paper.

Medium bodied with a syrupy mouthfeel. Tacky, chewy, and slickish.

Malt-forward on the palate for the style, with more cardboard and stale pine bark. Medium bitterness and alcohol barely noticeable.

Finishes with lingering cardboard, wet paper, and faded hops.

This is the reason I rarely purchase a $8.00 bottle of IPA/IIPA without a bottle date. Shame on me. This beer is old, beat, and syrupy.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 00:44:10 | More by brewandbbq

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.85/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 3.5

Pours dark amber with a fading head.
Massively hoppy aroma, smells like a freshly opened bag of hops. Some pine and resinous notes too, alongside sweet clean malt.
Very hoppy flavours too, but there's a fair bit of clean malt to balance things. Very resinous, with spicy hops too. Pretty tasty stuff.
Spot on moderately high carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 08:57:52 | More by CrazyDavros

Beerandboards

New Mexico

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bomber, no bottled date

A - darker orange. Smaller amount of white head.

S - dank pine, some rich citrus, orange, some alcohol.

T - thick bitterness kind of takes everything over. There is a piney hop note, sappy almost. Bitter orange. Aftertaste is dominated by bitter citrus.

M - under carbonated. Oily.

O - gotta say, not great. Certainly not bad, but I the world of plentiful top notch IPAs, this one is not quite up to a snuff.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2013 02:11:14 | More by Beerandboards

GuzzLah

Illinois

3.74/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - pours a hazy orange with a short white head. No lace. A few bubbles.

S - weak intensity for the style. Citrus, floral and mild onion/pine hops. Relatively strong malt note.

T - orange and grapefruit with some malty sweetness. Nice citrus forward flavor.

M - medium body with low-medium carbonation. Slightly oily. Low-medium citric bitter finish with a medium sustain. Tangy.

O - this is a fairly conservative DIPA that won't impress people looking for extreme examples of the style. Not dank. Not very bitter. On the sweet and malty side. However, it does have a nice flavor and it didn't have any fermentation flaws. Smooth 8% abv.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 22:48:55 | More by GuzzLah

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

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

Arbitrator

California

2.85/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Chilled bottle into a glass. From notes.

A: Pours a hazy orange body. Modest head, poor retention, some tendrils of lace.

S: Spicy with mild tropical citrus -- I specify 'mild' because I expected a billowing, pungent aroma. The bottle is only 2 months old.

T: Spicy onions with some citrus and pronounced, but not overwhelming, bitterness. It's not my favorite flavor profile in the DIPA category, but it's not awful.

M: It's a little boozy, and the spicy onion makes it more noticeable. Could use improvement.

O: Sad to say it, but at this point, there's enough local competition in the DIPA segment that an $8 bomber of just-all-right beer isn't going to cut it for me. I drank half, threw the rest out, and switched to something else. I'm pretty unlikely to pick this up again.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 02:21:44 | More by Arbitrator

BucannonXC5

California

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22-oz. bomber into a pint glass at my house on Nov. 13, 2012 (purchased at Mission Trails Market for $7.99 on Nov. 13, 2012). Caramel amber with three fingers of thick frothy white head.
Decent wet foamy retention on the top and the sides.

Smelled a nice dose of citrus hops. Got grapefruit, tangerine, lime, skunky pine and caramel (light). The skunk lingered on.

Tasted very hoppy right from the get-go. Got tangerine and grapefruit bitter hops up front with a strong bite of orange peels and alcohol lingering after. I kept waiting for the aftertaste to be good, but it never really came. Definitely missing something.

Medium body. Creamy texture. Lively (above average) carbonation. Skunky, bitter finish.

Was a bit disappointed overall, especially for the $7.99 price tag. It was missing something, came up just a tad short.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 04:25:09 | More by BucannonXC5