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2012 Symposium Double IPA (San Diego Pale Ale)
Karl Strauss Brewing Company

2012 Symposium Double IPA (San Diego Pale Ale)2012 Symposium Double IPA (San Diego Pale Ale)
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From:
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
10%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 17.03%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
16
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 24, 2014
Added:
May 12, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by ConorThomas:
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Rated by ConorThomas from Kentucky

4.25/5  rDev +14.9%

Jun 06, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of BMMillsy
Reviewed by BMMillsy from Florida

3.35/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Bomber as an extra in a trade. Thanks! No bottle date but I assume this is on the old side. Oh well a tick is a tick. Pours murky orange with a small off white head on top. Aroma leads me to believe this is a huge malt bomb, some orange rind, caramel, needy malts, toffee, dank citrus sweetness in there. Flavor is light orange peel and toffee, medium bitter, not too aggressive. Overall relatively pleasant. Dank and resinous mouthfeel, lighter mouthfeel than expected given the big malt aroma. Decent APA, if a bit old. Plenty of flavors to go around.
Feb 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Zbeetleman from California

Jul 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Jun 24, 2013
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.43/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Bottle pour at the bottle share held at Chloe's inside Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours a clear orange with a foamy bone colored head that settles to a small cap on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus fruit, and citrus zest. Taste is much the same with honey and candy flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that is drinkable but the flavors I am getting clash with each other somewhat.
Apr 06, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by DSlim71 from New Jersey

Sep 10, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by freduardo from Alabama

Jun 17, 2012
Photo of MusicaleMike
Reviewed by MusicaleMike from Pennsylvania

2.44/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
Sampled at an IPA tasting.
22oz. bottle
No date on bottle.
Served in a 10 oz. tulip glass.

Nice creamy white head on top of a hazed golden body. Not that clear. Lacing is sticking all over the sides. Head recedes to a nice coating on top.

The aroma is of major American hops. I get notes of grapefruit, juicyfruit gum, cotton candy, mint...definitely a big and complex aroma. Fairly par for the course in the DIPA category though to be honest.

Quite a boozy beer. A bit sweet up front, but not cloying. Not extremely bitter, but there is an intense solvent character with this one. Pretty awful if you ask me.

The mouthfeel gets affected by the sheer heat and burn from this beer. Otherwise, it's a full-bodied beer with some juicy malts present. Carbonation is on the lighter side.

Overall this beer sucks. Not the worst DIPA I've ever had, but close. I can't imagine this beer being presented as a "symposium" beer... embarrassing.
Jun 02, 2012
Photo of DefenCorps
Reviewed by DefenCorps from Oregon

2.56/5  rDev -30.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Thanks, Mike.

A surprisingly dark amber with a dense, off-white head that falls off to nothing, leaving a little lace. The nose is very blah. A blend of mild aroma and bittering hops is present, with some fruit (mango, papaya), some toffee and caramel. The flavors are rather mediocre, with the toffee and caramel being most noticeable, with a green hop character, mildly bitter, moderately flavorful with fruit again. Drying, toasty on the finish, this beer is medium-light in body and moderately carbonated. On the bright side, alcohol is reasonably well hidden. Not at all what I think of when I think San Diego pale ale, this is mediocre.
Jun 01, 2012
Photo of BucannonXC5
Reviewed by BucannonXC5 from California

3.92/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a tap into a snifter at Churchill’s in San Marcos, Calif., on May 27, 2012. Less than a finger of head on the top of the glass. Color was honey bright orange. Cloudy white lacing with good retention the whole pour.

Got citrus hops in the nose first, mainly orange, tangerine and orange sorbet. Sweet floral notes. Nice flavor, the best part of the beer.

Tasted pretty similar to the nose with some minor differences. Got citrus hops - tangerine, orange and sorbet. A sweet floral taste, too. Also a bit buttery on the tongue.

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long lasting, smooth finish.

A pretty good beer overall. Something different. More of a double IPA than a pale ale in my opinion.
Jun 01, 2012
Photo of JohnGalt1
Reviewed by JohnGalt1 from Idaho

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
enjoyed this last night with big props to Alehousedave and reinheitsgematt... Very cool... Thanks a ton fellas.

Pours a fairly clear dark golden with a good white head and nice retention..

Nose is a tropical fruit bowl with plenty residual pale maltiness...

Flavor pretty much mirrors the nose.... tons of fruity hops... really surprised that the bitterness isn't bigger... seems a bit flimsy IMO... too much malty sweetness ... but right now the fresh bottling makes the hops shine!! The hops are great, but it is too malty.

Nice medium carbonation and body... Very drinkable despite my above negatives.

Thanks again.

All 4's... damn.. I would love to score one of these to sit and review quietly.. Thanks Dave and Matt!!
May 24, 2012
Photo of notchucknorris
Reviewed by notchucknorris from California

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at O'Brien's

A: Pours a clear honey color with a one finger cream colored head. Looks pretty solid.

S: Sweet malty smell with some caramel, melon and some piny hops. A little faint for me but not bad.

T: I'm really not a big Karl Strauss fan, but I was impressed by this. A nice caramel malt sweetness with some pine and grapefruit hop notes throughout. Very smooth finish with a tough of malt sweetness. I'm a fan.
May 23, 2012
Photo of nickfl
Reviewed by nickfl from Florida

3.91/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Poured with two fingers of white foam on top of a clear, copper colored body. The head has good staying power and finally settles out to leave a nice coating of lace on the glass.

S - A rich aroam of bready malt with notes of toffee, caramel and some pine hops.

T - Sweet malt and herbal hops up front. Darker sugar notes of toffee and caramel come out in the middle with a touch of pine character. Finishes with pine, grapefruit, and moderate bitterness as well as dark, slightly fruity malt.

M - Medium-thick body, moderate carbonation, and a sweet finish.

D - Very drinkable, it is a bit low on aroma for a west coast IPA, but the flavor profile makes up for it with a distinctly hoppy charater that works well with the moderately dark caramel malt.
May 17, 2012
Photo of kylehay2004
Reviewed by kylehay2004 from Illinois

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: single finger head with very nice circumferential lacing on clear golden-amber body.

S: pretty malty with green apple and grapefruit citrus notes from the hops which are mild.

T: malt forward IPA. Not very boozy. The hops are overall mild for the style providing mostly musty, earthy hop notes. Citrus sweetness in the finish mostly orange and grapefruit. slight candied citrus note as well.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall: Not quite as hoppy as a DIPA and its fairly malt forward. Not too bad overall. More of a malty IPA. The flavor is solid overall.
May 17, 2012
Photo of HopHead84
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California

2.86/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
5/11/2012

"Symposium Double IPA was brewed to commemorate the Brewer's Association's Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, May 2 - 5, 2012, San Diego, California."

San Diego Pale Ale? Let's see if it's worthy of the name.

A: Dark orange with nice clarity and an inch of white foam. Lacing is scattered.

S: Dull hop profile with a big sugary caramel and bready malt presence. Notes of cantaloupe blend with tangerine, appple (?), and orange. Muted and disappointing.

T: Caramel malt with a lot of sugary sweetness that balances a moderate bitterness. Notes of grapefruit and orange are present. Alcohol is apparent in the malty finish.

M: Upper medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: Eh. Tower 20 is a malty East Coast Double IPA, and that's Karl Strauss' only recent expedition into Double IPA territory as far as I know, so I'm not sure why they were picked to brew a commemorative CBC beer called a San Diego Pale Ale. It's big and malty like Tower 20, which isn't at all an SDPA. It's not only malty but also had a feeble hop aroma and flavor. Not representative of the great hoppy beer that's being brewed in San Diego.
May 12, 2012
2012 Symposium Double IPA (San Diego Pale Ale) from Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 16 ratings