Twin Sisters Double IPA - Left Hand Brewing Company

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

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

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

4.74/5  rDev +25.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Poured into a balloon glass.

Look: Light copper, light cream head that leaves chunks of bubbles and good webby lacing.

Aroma: Piny hops, spices, cedar.

Taste: bitter citrus, pine, bitter hops, faint spices and tropical fruit.

Mouthfeel: Medium with a dry finish.

Overall: One of the best DIPAs I've had, and certainly one of my faves from Left Hand.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 16:19:58 | More by JuicesFlowing

Pegasus

Texas

3.55/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Dark, hazy orance, with a modest white head, which fades fairly quickly. Thin, scattered lacing adorns the glass walls.

Aroma: Substantial medicinal hop notes in the aroma, as well as lots of caramel, and sweet alcohol.

Taste: Opens with a strong wave of citric and medicinal hops. Against this, there is a strong backbone of very sweet caramel malt. As the taste develops, the hops and the malt play off against each other, with the hops ultimately triumphant. At the end of the taste, there is a lingering medicinal bitterness, which vanquishes any remnant of the malt.

Mouthfeel: Very soft and full, quite pleasant, with a dry finish.

Drinkability/notes: A nice example of the style. It would be interesting to pair with barbeque.

Presentation: Packaged in a twenty-two ounce brown glass bomber, served in a Chimay chalice.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 14:44:16 | More by Pegasus

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

3.88/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber poured into a tulip glass
The bottle I have has different label art. No date.

A- Pours super hazy orange. A very small head, only a quarter finger and it was gone very quickly.

S- Very hoppy as you may expect. Mine seems to smell a bit older. The hop profile I got consists of grapefruit, pineapple and some darker fruit. The fruit profile seems a bit over ripened which I dont mind but I think its because this brew isn't too fresh, I prefer fresh IPA's. Tiny touch of alcohol and some nice roasted malts.

T- A little bit of bitterness washed over first along with a big wave of those overly ripened fruits. Finishes bitter and with a nice unique maltiness that seems somewhat roasted and reminiscent of rye. The hop flavor has likely faded with age but is quite strong and flavorful; consisting of grapefruit figs and other bitter fruits.

M- A slight burning and little alcohol taste going down. Bitter, very bitter but not the most bitter I have tasted, A moderately dry aftertaste. not too heavy and a little actually pretty refreshing.

O- This is a nice IPA, nothing I haven't had before but very well done and nicely balanced. I cant help but thinking I would have given this a much higher score had this been a fresh bottle.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2012 01:55:03 | More by TwelveOunces

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.8/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Hoppy aroma is not strong but has a good fruity undertone and a hint of caramel. It pours a nice clear, rather dark amber with a decent pale tan head. Flavor is QUITE hoppy, evergreen and a little bitter, with hints of grapefruit, apple and caramel. Texture has plenty of fizz and good firm body.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 02:08:56 | More by Cyberkedi

hopfacebrew

Colorado

3.13/5  rDev -17%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from bomber to pint glass.

A - The beer pours a translucent copper color with a 1/2 finger slightly off-white color. Some retention and lacing.

S - So much malt it's biscuity, similar to the Warrior IPA. There is a bit of floral aroma and earthy hops, but dominated by malty boozy sweetness.

T/M - The beer starts off with a medium earthy bitterness. The beer develops into a sweet malt character along with a somewhat fruity tone: citrus, honey, biscuit. Not as bitter as it seemed at first. The beer finishes syrupy and hot. Too much alcohol in my opinion. Medium carbonation and medium bodied.

D - Meh.

Overall, this wasn't what I as expecting for the style, which seems to be synonymous with Left Hand's beers. Not a fan.

Note: This review was a re-post from my former account, jmkratt, which was hacked and I lost all my reviews...sorry for the redundancy.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 03-07-2011 14:47:33
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Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 14:20:02 | More by hopfacebrew

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - pours a hazy orange, good initial amount of head but quickly decreased, heavy lacing

S - very aromatic, not as hoppy as i imagined for a double ipa

T - heavy on the malt, bitter after taste

M - heavy on the mouth, sticky on the lips

O - not bad at all, nothing above average though aside from its very aromatic smell

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 22:31:31 | More by facundoCNB

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured out as a murky looking copper color with a white head on top. the smell of the beer was earthy with some light citrus notes. The taste of the beer was more earthy than anything. It was bitter and it dried my mouth out but I was hoping for a little more of a West Coast style instead. The mouthfeel was a little bit on the thick side which I didn't mind. The beer dries the mouth out pretty fast. Overall this beer wasn't too bad it just depends on what IPA style you prefer.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 06:14:41 | More by Knapp85

claytong

Vermont

3.83/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

2008 vintage

appearance - golden orange in color, with a good sized head and good lacing, nice sticking. gushed a bit upon opening.

smell - citrus, orange, hops, wow amazed hops made it, caramel malt

taste - follows with the citrus on the end and caramel malt up front

mouthfeel - smooth, good body, good carbonation. very nice for autumn. aged dipa time.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 22:57:26 | More by claytong

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This was a bit of an older bottle so take this review with a grain of salt, I suppose. The lacing and head were modest. Nice aroma of malt with some citrus behind it. Taste is strongly alcoholic but actually fairly balanced...time may have mellowed the hops a bit, leaving them even with the malt underneath. Definitely boozy. Long bitter finish that stays on a bit too long for my taste. Funny that the hops sit back a bit upon first drinking but really linger on the tongue after you swallow. As another reviewer said, could be dryer.

Not bad..I will probably return if I can find a fresher bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2011 19:35:23 | More by tobelerone

chocosushi

Oklahoma

3.3/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A ~ Pours dark orange with great lacing.

S ~ Sticky orange slices, wet leaves, graham crackers...Malt-forward for sure. Very full aromas.

T ~ Malt! Earthy, Slightly sweet, & heavy on the Barley, lending biscuits & burnt caramel. Notes of Tangerine pith, orange zest, & apricot...there is a bit of Basil-like herbyness that was off putting on the finish. Hops are citric, but buried beneath dopey amounts of malt. Not feelin' it.

M ~ Sticky, sweet, & prickly. Should be more dry than it currently stands. Not very balanced.

D ~ One & done. Probably would not buy again or reccomend, but I am very glad I tried this one as I have wanted to for a long time. I prefer the Warrior much more.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2011 06:09:42 | More by chocosushi

FanofHefe

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bomber poured into a pint glass; although there is a place on the label for a "bottled on" date, it is blank, so no information. Pours a hazy golden colored body with a nice three-finger ecru head. Good retention and rings of lacing.

Uh oh...malty aroma. Not my favorite way to start a DIPA. Caramel malt dominates the aroma with some light citrus hops in the background.

Unfortunately the taste does not improve much over the aroma. The malt flavor is actually very rich, but it overpowers the hops. I get only a shadow of fruity hop flavor in the background which makes for a sweet beer overall.

A medium mouthfeel that borders on cloyingly sweet. Definitely needs a better hop flavor to compete with the best.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 02:46:31 | More by FanofHefe

Forb

Nebraska

3.9/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a pint bottle...

Appearance: A golden, orange, amber, copper hue to it. Many colors throughout depending on light with a minor frothy head and almost white walled lacing.

Smell: A sugary hoppy aura lingers from the glass showing me that this one will have some fair malt to it as well as hop bitterness.

Taste: Tastes of sugary caramel malt with a piney, citrusy backbone. Not at all what I was expecting but deliciously so.

Mouthfeel: One of it's best qualities. Creamy and smooth on a medium body.

Overall: The sweetness was a bit much for me at first being that I don't much care for sweet beers. But a few sips later here I am indulging in the sugary goodness. From a company known moreso for their stouts and porters; this beer weighs in quite well for this hophead.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2011 22:15:42 | More by Forb

Dotcubed

Arkansas

3.4/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A random selection from a new store. They had a good wide selection.

New label design is better.

Now I want to know why there's so many A+ top examples of this style.

Pours beautiful, big bubbles in the bottle. In the glass there's a good sticky foam. Clear, coppery.

Pineapples and peach. Smells tame.

Massive hit o hops. Hi booze heat. Like an out of control pint of bitter. Long lasting flavor. Very warming. Smooth. Some weight to it.

Drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2011 00:38:24 | More by Dotcubed

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

another new one thanks to david. i hadnt had much left hand in a while so a nice welcome change

The pour was very nice with a rich light golden amber. Smooth and very cloudy, this thing looked like it was about to kick my ass, and as I was about to find out, it was defintley going to. Lots of ripe grapefruit and pineapple hops that just tore through the air as soon as I leaned in to it. Huge notes of hops dominated the entire flavor as well. Sharp flavor here as the resin like hops took all the moisture out of my mouth and left me parched, dry and looking for more. One of the best finishes I have had in a big IPA in a very, very long time. I would love to try this one again and will defitely be on the lookout to try it again.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2011 23:50:38 | More by mikesgroove

CHILLINDYLAN

Washington

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Glowing copper with peach edges. Big light beige head, thick and frothy. Big cavernous laces.

Spicy resinous and floral with a touch of grapefruit peel. Some toasty biscuit and caramel. Great aroma, but a bit muted, could pack a little more punch.

Juicy and resinous floral hops. Sweet toasty biscuit, caramel, and a touch of spicy rye. Spicy resinous big bitterness.

Med+ body. Slightly thick and sticky, but still lively, drying and refreshing. Medium carbonation.

Tasty DIPA. Nice hop character and rye addition. Overall a decent brew that I'd get again.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 18:25:03 | More by CHILLINDYLAN

ngeunit1

California

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a bright slightly hazy golden-orange color with a finger of frothy slightly off-white head. The head fades down slowly to a ring around the glass lacing behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is full of citrus hops and a touch of floral hops. Lots of grapefruit. There is also some sweet caramel malt in the background.

T - Starts off with some citrus hop flavor and bitterness. Nice grapefruit flavor along side some sweet malts. Through the middle some stronger bitterness and other fruits come through. The finish is a mix of hop flavor and bitterness with just enough caramel malts and a touch of booze that lingers.

M - Medium to medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and even a touch crisp. Finish is really dry and a touch bitter and very nice.

D - Very drinkable. The 9% abv is definitely noticeable here, but not in a particularly bad way. The rest of the flavors mix together well and blend very nicely.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2011 00:22:22 | More by ngeunit1

redsonja

Netherlands

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A; dark yellow, nice full head.

S; citrus,hops, some wood.

T; citrus, grapefruits,hopbitter and some sweetness and saltyness.

M; the bitter is overwelming but you dont taste the high alcohol nice double i.p.a.

O: if you like hopbitters in your beer this is a good beer for you, but watch it its 9%.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2011 06:40:22 | More by redsonja

azdback

Arizona

3.63/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into my newly acquired Spaten glass. Dark burnt orange, with a two finger head that is just a shade off of bright white. Not a lot of carbonation bubbles. Lace appears to want to stick around for dinner.

The smell is very sweet malt, kinda smells like a Double Simcoe at first. Some citrus hops that smell like orange rind come too. Just a bit of alcohol and yeast as this one warms.

And here is where you lose me. The taste is an odd sweet, yeasty, chalky, bitter. I am very in love with bitter, but this is just odd. I want to try to explain the taste as best I can and all I can come up with is maybe biting a grapefruit peel (from the outside) and then licking sugar off of your upper thumb. Kinda like how people take Tequila shots and lick the salt off their thumbs.

With all that time wasted typing I must say this changes quite a bit as it sits and warms. The uber bitter has mellowed and has change to more of a taste like a hybrid orange and yellow grapefruit might taste. As it warms it also gains some musty yeast taste and the alcohol comes out quite a bit.

The mouth is good for the style. For as sweet as it is I think it could be a bit more silky and full at the end. The bitter wins the battle, but I don't think that's all bad. I do love Ruination!

Overall I like this one, from the Centennial State, but having to judge this beer as a DIPA really hurts the score in my opinion. I did like this beer and think it is worth a taste if you get the chance, but as for a DIPA at $9 I think your local bottle shop probably has a better choice at a better price.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2011 06:52:17 | More by azdback

Cozzatoad

Italy

3.6/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle, purchased at a local beershop

A- Dark orange, almost red. Hazy but you can still see through. The creamy head is small but shows very good retention

S- Pine aromas are dominant, but there are also fruity notes (citrus, orange) and a nice biscuit sweetness from the malts

T- What the smell suggest. The beer is not just hops and in fact it is pleasantly creamy with a nice sweet malts character and some caramel undertones. But of course hops are dominant: a bitter pine flavour is nicely balanced by citrus, apple and orange on the tongue. Leaves a very bitter aftertaste on the palate that takes your mind away from other flavours, really too bitter for my liking

M- A creamy beer, quite soft on the mouth for the style, alcohol is well hidden. I don't know wheter that just my feeling but a bit more carbonation would bring more life, though that may be caused by the long distance that the bottle had to cover

D- 9% ABV is very well hidden and the beer feels refreshing and rich. That bitter aftertaste is still too strong in my opionion

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 14:34:18 | More by Cozzatoad

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.8/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Murky cadmium orange with low light allowance coming through. On top lied a marshmellow sandy beige head of good retention that left a generous helping of thick spongy lace. A very slow and lazily rising effervesce is revealed upon backlighting.

S: Pine hops are the first to get noticed, but barely. Very light in strength with very little helping in terms of complexity and hop muscle which was sorely lacking. Finishes off with a dry flowery pine scent.

T: Strong hoppy juices flow from the get go, worthy of double standards. Flowery pine, bitter grapefruit peel along with a toasty warm quality of caramel gains and dry lemons parches the tongue's taste buds with a good sense of bitterness. After a near silent nose, the hops have awoken. The heavily handed specialty grain base adds substance and equal recognition along with the hops. Bitter dry orange peels rounds things out.

M: Thick and viscose hop juices lie on the tongue with a sense of bitterness. Sparkling carbonation and warm pine and grapefruit juices warm the inner cheeks. A nice sense of dry bitterness appears on the swallow.

D: Nice and hoppy, worthy of 2x ipa label lacing and parching the tongue with a good assault of hops. Should satisfy the most avid of hop heads. Bomber worthy.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 22:19:32 | More by beerthulhu

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.83/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

2006 vintage. Corked and Caged 750ml bottle.

Excellent pour. Dark orange, hazy and opaque. Spongy yellow/beige head of two fingers forms and laces nicely.

Aroma is of biscuits and bread, light malt sweetness, and surprisingly for the age, some citrus in the back.

Taste is rich and malty, not thick and syrupy as I would have suspected. Light bready sweetness, nutty, and mild citrus notes. Finish was slightly bitter and citrusy, which was a nice surprise, again, due to the age.

Feel was creamy, still nicely carbonated, medium bodied, and slick.

Drinkability was solid. Finishing the fifth won't be hard.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2011 01:40:23 | More by EgadBananas

doopiedoopiedoo

Netherlands

3.93/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bomber at Bert's Bierhuis. It says bottled in 8 2011. Very impressive since it's Februari 2011 while I'm drinking it. Fresness matters!

Poured into a Kronenbourg .40 ltr glass.

Poured clear and dark golden brown with a decent two finger white fluffy head.

It smells like Hops, citrus fruits some pine and malts. Pleasant smell.

Caramel malts on the tongue but hops take over pretty quickly and make for a bitter finish.

It's creamy and fairly thick, full bodied with a perfect amount of carbonation. Would have never guessed 9% as it is easy to drink.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon this at Bert's Bierhuis and it being so cheap (4 euro's for a bomber). Glad I picked it up and tried it. While it's maybe not the very best I've had in this style, it's certainly not bad and I would gladly drink it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2011 14:25:07 | More by doopiedoopiedoo