Twin Sisters Double IPA - Left Hand Brewing Company

portia99

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle poured into a Portsmouth goblet. 2008 edition received in a trade from BeerLovinGrl. Thanks a bunch Chrissy!

A - Poured a bright, hazy/cloudy orange - almost hefeweizen-like in appearance. Thick, long lasting head, off white in color, dissipates slowly leaving thick lacing on the sides of the glass. Very interesting.

S - Could smell the aroma of citrusy hops as soon as I cracked the bottle. This only increases with the pour into the glass. Some biscuity, breadlike malt in the nose too. Very good.

T - Lots of citrusy hops, crisp bitterness, balanced with caramel and toffee malt flavors. Maybe balanced a touch too much toward the malt side for my tastes, but overall very good. Alcohol makes its presence known - strong but appropriate - not too overpowering.

M - Full bodied, thick and rich - malt balance makes it feel a little bit heavy. Plenty of carbonation, prickly at first giving way to a creaminess.

D - A little bit on the heavy/filling side. Great tasting beer, but I think this bomber is going to be it for the night. A little bit more towards a sipping beer than is ideal for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2009 01:16:23 | More by portia99

safaricook

Netherlands

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-22-2013 16:49:22 | More by safaricook

CreightonSM

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-22-2013 02:40:52 | More by CreightonSM

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.24/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium coppery amber with a fine one finger white head with great retention and lacing. Nice aroma of piney and lightly herbal hops and bready malt. Flavor of extremely well melded pine and citrus hops with sweet caramel malt and stone fruit. The flavors are so well balanced that the hops do not seem very dominant until the finish, which is long lasting piney hops and a mixture of caramel and biscuit malt. Extremely creamy and mouth soothing texture. I was a bit taken aback on my first sip, because the hops seemed very subdued, but as the initial malt subsided, the hops revealed themselves nicely. This is not a hop bomb, but instead a well balanced, very malty imperial IPA. Nicely done and different. Not for those who don't like malty IPAs, but I really like it.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 03:08:29 | More by LiquidAmber

klingenator

Michigan

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-19-2013 03:18:17 | More by klingenator

tstigz

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -13.8%

05-19-2013 01:45:22 | More by tstigz

Phillyz

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-18-2013 01:51:41 | More by Phillyz

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.56/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in a snifter at Firkin.

Finishing my fill of the Left Hand tap takeover here at Firkin with their double IPA. It pours a lightly-hazy sunrise amber topped by a finger of off-cream foam. The nose comprises grapefruit zest, mild sweet caramel, earthy and spicy greens, and a twinge of mandarin orange. The taste brings in more of the same, with rindier fruit, some candied orange peel, some extra mixed greens, and some sharp grass. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, a nice DIPA, nothing really special, but one I could see drinking again without a grimace of unhappiness.

Serving type: on-tap

05-17-2013 03:00:06 | More by TMoney2591

lovindahops

New York

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-16-2013 01:37:45 | More by lovindahops

kjkinsey

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-15-2013 22:45:37 | More by kjkinsey

Texasfan549

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-15-2013 21:53:34 | More by Texasfan549

Nolen12

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -20.4%

05-13-2013 15:31:19 | More by Nolen12

Zimm

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-13-2013 00:28:20 | More by Zimm

peabody

Kentucky

3.29/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Pours out a slight amber color with lots of effervescence but only slight foam. Some lacing around the glass.
Smell is pine resin and sugar malts. As it warms you get a little bit of grapefruit. Not a lot of nose here.
Taste is bitter dark hop and a sugary malt that taste like two row smells when it is cooking.
Mouthfeel is very clean and there is just a tad of bitter aftertaste that soon leaves the palate.
Good beer for a juicy rare steak. Otherwise this one is a little plane for a double IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 00:55:27 | More by peabody

jondeelee

Massachusetts

3.94/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Twin Sisters opens to a bright, hoppy nose, with pink grapefruit, lemon, sugary rosewater, and pine resin dominating, with lesser touches of grapefruit rind and mint. The aromas are very sweet, everything about this beer—even the hops—geared toward sugary, fruity, citrusy aromas. There’s also a nice bed of fruit esters, including orange, apricot, cherry, berry, and peach, all of which mingle with candi sugar, brown sugar, and dashed of super sweet confectioner’s sugar, and provide a nice bolstering effect to the citrusy hops. Grape Nuts cereal, biscuit, and light floury baguette add earthiness. As a whole, the nose is very nice, and while it is not at all the hop blast that often comes from Double IPAs, it’s still obviously hop-centered, being quite fruity and citrusy, and immediately notable in this sense as excellent summer fare.

On the tongue, the beer proves to be sweet and lightly hoppy, the hops bringing pink grapefruit, sugary rosewater, and very light touches of pine and lemon. More noticeable, however, are the massive levels of sugar and fruit esters, with orange, apricot, cherry, berry, and peach mixing with heavy doses of brown sugar and candi sugar to produce a sweetness more reminiscent of syrup than beer. There’s just enough pine and grapefruit rind to somewhat reign in this sweetness, and the biscuit/floury baguette/Grape Nuts cereal grain base adds further weak pulls back to earth. A bit more hop bitterness does come out late in the mouthful as the sugars die off, and the aftertaste also boasts a bit more hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is a surprisingly heavily sugared Double IPA, and in fact in many ways doesn’t feel like a Double IPA at all. Yes, the 9.6% ABV is well hidden beneath the heavy sugars, but for its 77 IBUs, this still comes across more like a sweet, fruity, citrusy cocktail than a beer, and needed a bit more dandelion stem or pine resin hop bite to balance this sweetness. It’s still good beer, mind you—but not quite what is expected.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 19:25:56 | More by jondeelee

MrBuckHigh

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

05-08-2013 18:24:42 | More by MrBuckHigh

beerguy36

Tennessee

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

05-08-2013 01:27:39 | More by beerguy36

dalepryor

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-07-2013 20:19:36 | More by dalepryor

4Socialanxiety

Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +12.7%

05-01-2013 03:02:22 | More by 4Socialanxiety

Lorihall1

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +6.1%

04-29-2013 21:19:59 | More by Lorihall1

rolltide8425

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

04-28-2013 23:03:49 | More by rolltide8425

neckbracesub

Indiana

4/5  rDev +6.1%

04-28-2013 13:08:17 | More by neckbracesub

watsonmd

Georgia

3.64/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Fresh as I can find...(best by 09/05/13) kept at 34 degrees, into snifter.

A: Golden amber, slight head, dissipates quickly, and there is a fine lacing during the session.

S: Hops, but not overpowering. Floral, citrus, maybe lavender?

T: Balanced, citrus forward hop, nice taste, but not as "grab you by the tongue" as most DIPA/IIPA beers are.

M: Nice, lingering, hop and sweet, with a minimal carbonation.

O: Nice offering, but not one I am rushing out to stock-pile, especially in the 22 oz format.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 02:59:47 | More by watsonmd

Tone

Missouri

3.51/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear, copper color. 1/4 inch head of a white color. Decent retention and slight lacing. Smells of citrus hops, sweet malt, slight floral hops, alcohol, and a hint of earthy malt. Fits the style of an American Double / Imperial IPA. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of citrus hops, floral hops, sweet malt, slight alcohol, and a hint of earthy malt. Overall, decent appearance, good aroma, decent feel, and decent body.

Serving type: on-tap

04-26-2013 13:53:59 | More by Tone

godlessape

Georgia

2.96/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had this one on tap, poured into a tulip. It has a nice cloudy copper color to it but not much head to speak of, which I found surprising.



As far as aroma goes there was nothing jumping out of the glass and yanking on my nose. I did pick up some grapefruit, and a little sweet malt, but I had to try hard to get that.



The taste is thick and kind of sweet like syrupy malt and fruit cup juice, with a little hop bitterness on the tail-end. The high ABV is most certainly present here.



The mouthfeel is heavy with little carbonation.



Overall, a crashing disappointment.

Serving type: on-tap

04-20-2013 21:42:59 | More by godlessape