Bad Boy - Alpine Beer Company

billab914

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a growler into my Devil's Backbone glass. It poured crystal clear and bright orange amber in color. A thin, sticky white head barely covered the top.

The aroma is bright and juicy with some really great tropical fruit notes to it. I get lots of pineapple and peach to it with a little bitter citrus rind and grapefruit. Some sweeter candied fruits come through as well and really compliment it well.

The taste shows a little more citrus rind and grapefruit bitterness mixing with a sweeter, candied orange and pineapple flavor. Some juicy, peach notes come out in it as well with some of the grapefruit bitterness lingering into the finish. I love the candied fruits that come out in it. It was very juicy and fruity but also felt relatively balanced and drinkable as well.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with carbonation being moderate. It feels light and easy drinking for the style. Great beer overall, it was so juicy, fresh and easy drinking as well. I loved the sweeter, candied like fruits to it .

Serving type: growler

03-13-2012 17:08:52 | More by billab914

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Alpine, I was excited to get a good sample of this beer. It was yellow in color, little head. The smell was kind of brutal hops. The flavor made me open my eyes a little wider between the extreme hoppiness, pungent aroma, and obviously high alcohol content of the beer. This was good and I wish I'd been able to drink a growler of this but you can't do everything especially when there is Duet waiting to be drank.

Serving type: on-tap

09-22-2009 00:35:05 | More by ArrogantB

ehammond1

California

4.6/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On Tap

Alpine Beer Company Pub
Alpine, CA

Clear, light golden yellow in color with a loose, big bubbled, near-white head that leaves ribbons of stick down the glass.

Incredible aroma. I could smell how pungent and bright this beer smelled even as the waitress placed it down in front of me. The aroma is a big, powerful combination of citrus (orange and grapefruit) and big notes of pine forest. This would make for a wonderful air freshener for my car. This stuff smells great!

The flavor is big, bold, and aggressive. The bitterness is fairly high with lots of pine/resin/marijuana flavors. There's some mild citrus present as well, but this is big, dank, and piney. Very nice.

Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.

Just fantastic. This isn't as unique or interesting a beer as Nelson, but it's just as good as Pure Hoppiness, and in my opinion, better than Exponential Hoppiness.

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2012 23:43:55 | More by ehammond1

srandycarter

California

4.1/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours clear honey, good head, drops to ring, lacing minimal and sudsy.

S - Pine and Citrus blend of hops along with the malt core and brown sugar. My kid thinks it smells like grapefruit with an after smell of cherries.

T - Malty goodness, a tinge of maple syrup, hops galore.

M - Creamy, filling, good carb and coating.

D - For the ABV, deceptively drinkable.

Serving type: growler

12-18-2008 03:55:26 | More by srandycarter

nickd717

California

4.65/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Growler shared by largadeer on BA, who got it from another BA in the San Diego area. Big thanks to all parties who contributed toward getting this bad boy (which happens to actually be called "Bad Boy") into my mouth. I never mind trying a new Alpine IPA/DIPA, that's for sure.

Pours a brilliant clear copper color with a one-finger white head and great lacing.

Aroma is amazing and dominated by a complex hop character: floral, piney, citrusy, and...um...weedy. Not too much malt.

Flavor has just a touch of sweet malt, similar to Pliny almost, but is almost all about the hops. Fresh, intense floral, piney, and orangey/grapefruity hops. Oh yeah, some good ol' Mary Jane too. Who doesn't like that?

Medium bodied, clean, and crisp, with palate-wrecking hops. Damn near the perfect mouthfeel for this style.

Extremely drinkable. Amazing DIPA, on the same level as Pliny the Elder, if not even better. I will definitely seek out this "bad boy" in the future.

Serving type: growler

02-26-2010 19:26:26 | More by nickd717

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big Thanks to Patrick for sharing this growler.

Tons of sticky lace, dull finish and gold in color.

Aroma was fantastic. Juicy/resinous pine with some tropical fruit just below the surface. Thick and almost dank. (good dank) You can sense a higher ABV in the nose.

Dried Mango and a very interesting malt flavor. Big malt back bone here. Really juicy and just shy of sticky. It started off as interesting to me and it really grew on me as I worked through my glass. I swear I tasted almond for a moment. Just a really interesting and complex flavor. Again, the abv was present.

Fairly bold and big. Made you think sticky….

Alpine strikes again. Many thanks for the share. Excellent beer

Serving type: growler

06-17-2012 14:15:01 | More by Reagan1984

prototypic

Ohio

4.7/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Many, many thanks to JessetheHutt for the growler.

Bad Boy pours a golden color. It's very clear and bright with backlighting. A soft white head caps it off. It's relatively modest and is about a finger in depth. It's quick to recede to a surface covering, and holds there for a bit. Lacing was a little sticky, but light. I'm excited. It looks too light to have much caramel malt. Excellent!

The nose is nothing short of excellent. Hops are front and center and are very prominent throughout. They're primarily citric and feature grapefruit, orange, and mango scents. However, there is a nice dose of pine in the mix, as well. There is some malty sweetness present, but it smells mostly like pale malt. It does have a sweet, sugar cookie scent. Fortunately, there's very little caramel malt to discuss. I love that. Its presence is minimal. Alcohol is, surprisingly, nowhere to be found.

The flavor is fantastic. It kicks off with a delicious hop flavor. It's full of delicious grapefruit and pineapple flavor. There is definitely some pine in there. Slightly resiny. It's bitter and dry. Nicely done. The malt base seems predominantly pale. It's sweet and sugar cookie-esque. I am getting a little caramel, but not much. Overall, the hops definitely win the day. It remains full of delicious hop flavor with a nice bitter edge. Alcohol is blended very well and doesn't come through strong at all. I'd guess that this is in the 7% range, rather than 9%. It's masked extremely well. It finishes dry with a nice bitter hop kick.

Bad Boy has a medium body that's svelte and goes down easy. Carbonation seems light and perfect. Drinkability is very high. I'm splitting this growler, but I suspect I could take one down alone. This is damn tasty stuff that's dangerously drinkable. I'm feeling it already and I haven't even poured a second glass.

I'm super impressed with Alpine Beer Company's IPAs. They brew some of the world's finest. Honestly, I believe this is the best one of the bunch (that I've tried). Just comparing DIPAs, it truly is just a tad bit better than Pure Hoppiness. I'm that impressed with it. I hope that Alpine decides to bottle this at some point. It's worthy of it. The masses need to experience this beer. It's flat-out delicious. If you have a shot at a growler, go all out for it. It's worth it. Thanks, Jesse. This was awesome!

Serving type: growler

02-21-2010 03:09:25 | More by prototypic

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

pour is clear golden orange with tons of creamy tan head that lingers forever. Nose is heavy pine with citrus and pineapple notes and a hint green. Well balanced caramel biscuit malt gentle cascades the side of the mouth. Taste follows suit, I was expecting big bitterness but it is surprisingly smooth and clean. Got balance of caramel and biscuit mid palate with sweet citrus up front and loads of piney resinous hop in back. The body is full and creamy with a gentle carbonation and light lingering bitterness.

Serving type: growler

10-09-2012 18:43:52 | More by cpetrone84

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.47/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks for sending this Brandon!

Growler poured into a Pint glass.

A - Pours a clear, medium orange with a half finger, near-white head. The head fades mostly to the sides and leaves spots of lacing on the glass.

S - Very strong citrus - orange, lemon, and honey.

T - Orange, grapefruit, lemons.

D - Average body and carbonation. Very smooth.

O - Very fruity and wonderful.

Serving type: growler

10-08-2011 04:19:46 | More by HuskyinPDX

scottfrie

California

4.05/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Growler poured by Abel the great. I want your babies.

A: Pours a light lemon-golden with a finger of short lived white head that slowly faded in a thin collar leaving sticky streaks of lacing down the glass.
S: Super hoppy notes of pine, mint, lemon peel and grass.
T: Semi-sweet, grassy, some citrus, lemon, with a very fresh pine profile. Solid bitterness but the finish is rather mellow. Some doughy malt pokes through along with a little bit of onion. Minty aftertaste.
M: Medium-full body, good even carbonation, smooth mouthfeel, slightly boozy.
O: Another super solid and fresh DIPA from Alpine. Hoppy and smooth. Thanks again abecall98.

Serving type: growler

09-14-2012 01:38:26 | More by scottfrie

Arbitrator

California

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Chilled growler into a glass. From Sideswipe. THANK YOU JOHN. Yes, that had to be in all caps. I'd bold it and make the font bigger if the site would let me.

A: Pours a brilliant, clear copper-orange body capped with a well-retaining off-white head. It collapses into a ring around the beer, leaving no lace or curtains.

S: Citrus hops cranked up to 11: lemon, tangerine, pineapple, grapefruit, peach. Small aroma of pine underneath.

T: This is semi-dry, with a moderate sweetness that accentuates the fruity smorgasbord of the nose. The dominant flavors here are tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, and grass. A touch of peach and lemon are detected near the finish, which transitions into a light, lingering piney aftertaste. The grassy prominence is a bit unusual for me, but it is well tempered by citrus flavors, and it makes for a unique spin on the beer.

M: Medium+ bodied. Well carbonated. No lingering sweetness or oiliness. Very clean finish.

O: What a fantastic beer.

Serving type: growler

10-13-2011 04:09:22 | More by Arbitrator

Sean9689

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had on-tap at the brewery during my visit to SD. Thanks to Pat for the pour and personal tour, what a nice guy! Reviewed from notes 08/15/09.

A - Pours a very clear golden/orange with a white head. Some good lacing and bubbles remain on top as the cap.

S - Huge hoppy aroma with some citrus and floral notes in there as well. Really, this one was a huge hop bomb that blew out my sense of smell. Bad Boy is right.

T - Hops, bitter, hops, bitter, touch of malt, hops, bitter, bitter. Repeat over and over until you have finished your pour. Pretty much zero malt character, which I like.

M - Light to medium, good carbonation, crisp and smooth.

D - Another great one from Alpine. I think they're the kings of DIPA and IPA. This is yet another great example of what Pat and company are doing in sunny CA.

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2010 19:46:04 | More by Sean9689

homebrew311

Illinois

4/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Florida9 for sharing this growler!

Appearance is a brilliant clear gold with bright white head and decent lace. Nose is full of c-hops with heavy bright citrus notes along with some pine sap, lemon, syrup, and grass. The taste features quite the malt back bone with light molasses, rich caramel, and a moderate sweetness present before the hops overtake the flavor. Tropical fruits and grapefruit have an interplay between each other on the tail end. The body is medium with appropriate carbonation. Overall, this is a damn tasty IPA. Not sure I agree with the caliber of its average rating, but good nonetheless.

Serving type: growler

01-30-2013 07:00:07 | More by homebrew311

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Growler shared by starrdogg.

Very hazy/cloudy golden orange and a small white head. Minimal lacing. Looks unremarkable. Aroma was the highlight, very dank and green, spicy and light vegetable with a strong citrus finish. Sweet body, doughy and bubblegum base with intense and unbalanced herbal hops and grass. Some peach and grapefruit, but not much resin or pine. Hoppy Birthday and Nelson are among my favorites, but Alpine's bigger IIPAs continue to disappoint me.

Serving type: growler

10-08-2011 15:46:01 | More by yourefragile

Florida9

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Clear amber in color. Forms only a smallish white head, even on an aggressive pour that fades to a fairly stable, rocky surface coating before collapsing into absolutely nothing. Moderate lacing.

S: Nicely aromatic with a fair blend of hops and malt. Citrus, grapefruit, pine, caramel, and just a touch of tropical fruit.

T: The flavor is rather restrained. Very clean and well balanced, but restrained. There is a lightly sweet mild malty backbone and some light caramel notes. Hops lean toward the citrus with a good bit of grapefruit with pine to a lesser extent. Quick finish.

M: Medium bodied. Lower carbonation for the style. Mild to moderate bitterness.

O: This beer is far more restrained than I was expecting it to be. It's a good DIPA, but I was expecting something a bit more "in your face" from it. However, while there are a good dose of hops to it, this is a fairly balanced brew for Southern California. Good, but not overly exciting.

Serving type: growler

10-18-2012 01:38:48 | More by Florida9

Phelps

Arizona

4.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a growler shared by ejyoung, into a tulip.

Deep gold, like bullion. A little caramel as well, but the drink exhibits perfect clarity. One inch of head is white and fluffy as a cloud. It descends slowly, leaving sticky trails of bubbles.

In the nose: orange peel, dankness, honey, caramel, a little basil. It’s actually so dank as to be almost funky.

The flavor gets much maltier, with a nice sweetness to boot. Lots of caramel and burnt sugar with dank, sticky hops. Grass, a little alcohol, and very lightly toasted biscuits swirl in the finish.

Soft, medium body. Moderate carbonation breaks the beer into a little fizz. Mild bitterness, balanced with aplomb by the malt.

Good boy, Bad Boy. It’s got incredible balance, with a big malt presence to balance them crazy dank hops, and is very drinkable for its strength. A fabulous IPA.

Serving type: growler

04-06-2012 22:59:06 | More by Phelps

magictrokini

California

4.1/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours oily copper with a small white head. Sweet, floral aroma of tropical fruits, grapefruit, and sweet bread. Super-sweet resiny hops up front and throughout. Good amount of oranges, nectarines, and kiwi fruit flavors, but very little pine. Sticky caramel finish.

Serving type: on-tap

01-02-2009 19:12:44 | More by magictrokini

HalfFull

California

4.22/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear golden into a pint glass with a half inch of dense head. This dissipates in a few minutes yet has a lasting surface film bringing about some scattered lacing.

Smell is rich with hops, piney resinous hops along with some wet peat, hemp and citrus. Hop notes seem unusually volatile, becoming rarer as the carbonation decreases.

Taste is slightly rich initially and finishes with a well carbonated and oily orange citrus flavor. Overall the brew appears a bit thin in body, not having much of a malt balance. Yet what is there cloaks the ABV surprisingly well, improving drinkability. This brew seeks to maximize hops and ABV while keeping those pesky malt calories to a minimum, or not. Yes, perhaps that's just a well manipulated illusion as the bitterness is kept in check. Another fine IPA from Alpine that is rich and robust yet convinces you otherwise after a few sips due to its enticing flavor.

Serving type: growler

12-14-2008 22:41:01 | More by HalfFull

Gobzilla

California

4.33/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured amber brown with yellow highlights that had a thin head and left a little bit of lacing sticking to the glass. The aroma was pretty damn piney with floral hops, citrus, slight mango, and a good sweet malty presence. Upfron the piney hop notes stand out nice on the palate alongside citrus grapefruit that help out on the overall bitter bite but also had mango accents and a great malty backbone to balance out the piney potentcy. The brew was medium body with a fair amount of carbonation which had a piney hoppy bitter crisp finish. It drank really good and I felt like it was expo's baby brother.

Serving type: on-tap

09-02-2010 03:18:33 | More by Gobzilla

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Got this growler from goodspeed94. Thanks, Jon!

A-Crystal clear golden witha hint of peach, nice off white head with great retention and a bit of sticky lacing.

S-Huge blast of citrus hops with some sweet malt behind.

T-Some sweet malt in the front, quickly overtaken by strong citrus hops all the way through the finish. Excellent.

M-Medium bodied with lots of lingering bitterness.

D-Delicious. Tasty with great body and carbonation, no apparent alcohol. Loved this one.

HV

Serving type: growler

11-01-2009 02:55:29 | More by sholland119

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a pint glass.

From notes taken at the Alpine Beer Pub.

A - Light amber color with a 0.5 inch head that is white and very dense.

S - Aroma of dank hops. Some pine oils and some nice resin notes. Some lsight sweetness formt eh hops as well. Pretty hop forward. Not as booze heavy as expected with the 9%.

T & M - Dangerously smooth. Nice pine notes with some good dank hops and sticky resin notes. Citrus fills the middle of the beer with a slightly bready balance and then a bitter and dry finish that leaves a nice hoppy mess. Mouthfeel is a bit on the medium side with some sweet notes but mostly a easy drinker. Except for the higher ABV that is well hidden.

O - Its appropriately hop forward but quite smooth at the same time. Can be dangerous because of the ease of drinking. Solid DIPA.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2011 00:58:06 | More by JoEBoBpr

koopa

New Jersey

4.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler of San Diego beer week goodness sent to me in a trade thanks to johndoe8!

Appearance: Pours a transparent goldfish orange with a 2 finger off white (slightly buttery...hop oil tinged) crown that displays good retention and lace.

Smell: Strong pine note over a slight caramel base with pineapple sweetened edges. Some grapefruit notes lend support. Really nice but I'd expect a bit more punch out of a geniune west coast DIPA from a brewer as reputable as Alpine.

Taste: Same as nose but more full flavored! Enough bitterness to satisfy but not overly bitter by any means. Tiny hint of alcohol presence.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with good carbonation.

Drinkability: Pretty sessionable!

Serving type: growler

11-18-2010 23:01:19 | More by koopa

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Growler into Ithaca tulip.
Thanks to smokepot23 for the growler.

Pours a nice deep gold, just slightly hazy. Nice 2 fingers of loose white head. Good chunks of lacing. Nice retention.

Tropical fruits, pineapple, grapefruit... Mmmm. This has a great nose. Certainly not like Sarah Jessica Parker at all.

The flavor is very nice as well... I think the nose is better than the flavor, although not are quite nice. This is a quintessential DIPA. There is absolutely nothing about this beer that I am not enjoying. The flavor has a light (very light!) malt like crackers. The hops have a nice tropical fruit and grapefruit note. Fantastic bitterness just loitering in my mouth... Very nice.

As this warmed up, I did find one thing I disliked: there is a hint of garlicy summit hops... Meh.

The body is nice- well carbed and relatively light. Very easy to drink. Me likey.
I will keep this one on my wants list.

The

Serving type: growler

04-02-2011 01:09:39 | More by AleWatcher

Urbancaver

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear golden yellow. A good amount of white head with great head retention. Smells incredibly hoppy. Lots of citrus, grapefruit and pine. Vry nicely balanced hop profile. Tastes very crisp and bitter. Tns of subtle characters coming through. Very solid mouthfeel. A tasty brew

Serving type: growler

04-02-2011 16:03:21 | More by Urbancaver

jmarsh123

Indiana

4.03/5  rDev -11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Recently got in a trade. Thanks Jimmy!

Pours a very clear gold with a two finger foamy head.

Heavy tropical fruit, grapefruit and some pine in the nose. Your standard west coast IPA.

Light citrus flavor hits the tongue first then rolls straight into a piney bitterness that lingers on the tongue finishing crisp and dry. Hop forward beer.

Mouthfeel is light with good carbonation levels even from a growler.

Another very good beer from Alpine, but I prefer Hoppy Birthday and maybe Duet to this.

Serving type: growler

10-15-2011 16:52:23 | More by jmarsh123