Thumbprint IIPA - New Glarus Brewing Company

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

burnt amber with a big off white head and a nice bit of lace that flowed down the glass. The smell was dominatd y alcohol, as was the taste. Once it warmed some decent hints of citrus hops were brought forward and could finally be smelled. Lots of hop presence and a nice sweetness that tried to balance it out.The taste was smooth, albeit overpowering with the strong alcohol flavors. Overall this was a good brew, however I think this may be one that was so brought up on ABV that really didnt need to be, and that brings down the drinkibility a bit.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 15:38:32 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

4/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Apparently I need to move my review from Unplugged Imperial IPA to here...

Thanks to Mike for sending this one my way.

A: The beer pours a bright golden orange color with a fluffy white head.

S: A nice citrus aroma to the beer with lots of grapefruit and lemon peel. A mild pine note as well as some floral character. A hint of caramel malt and bread is also present.

T: Big time lemon peel and perhaps even some lemon flesh. A lot of grapefruit is present as well as some grass and pine. Mild bread and malt flavor with a decent bitterness on the back end.

M: The body and carbonation are both medium.

O: This was quite a nice Double IPA. Really crisp and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 16:26:23 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Huge thanks to BeerFMAndy for the bottle. Assist to beerwolf77. Thanks again. Served in a Bell's tulip.

Pours a very light apricot color with a good white head. Fairly long-lasting before it falls down to a think cap, leaving some spotty lacing behind. The nose is quite pungent, stinging the nostrils. Fantastic aromas of tropical fruit and, to a lesser degree, orange and other citrus. That's all there is to it. No malt. Damn straight; that's how it should be.

The flavor is not quite as intoxicating (in the figurative sense; I suppose in the literal sense it's the other way around) but still quite nice. Ripe mangoes plus some peach and orange. Really tasty. Fairly-bruising bitterness hits my palate, though I won't complain. It's been awhile since I've had a really hard-hitting IIPA. Props to New Glarus for making a really fine concoction.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2011 22:40:48 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev -8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Pours a hazy honey color with a very nice head; plenty of retention and a smattering of lace

Smell: From the first whiff, you can tell this is going to be big in both the malt and hop directions - cakey and sugary malts buttress scents of lemon, tropical fruits and onions

Taste: The malts take the first step forward, bringing sugar cake flavors to act as the platform for the big hop bill; the hops don't disappoint, bringing a rather unique combination of lemon, tropical fruit and onions; while the hops dominate, there is plenty of sugary malt in the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: This is a well-constructed beer and rather unique in its own right; I would score it higher if I liked the hop bill more but I am not crazy about the onion flavor

Thanks, aslamm75, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2013 19:03:40 | More by brentk56

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

New Glarus IIPA, label copy…blah, blah, blah,…A provocative 85 IBUs reverberates cleanly through this double IPA. True hops saturation from kettle boil to dry hop cellaring dominates this elegant and lustful sensory enchantment. You hold a deceptively seductive Original Gravity of 19.2 % Plato, now 9% ABV, following the always 100% natural bottle fermentation. Luscious English Maris Otter malt tis the essential heart of this voluptuous double IPA. Surrender is inevitable so enjoy now."

I'll take that advice. And, here we go…

Beautiful clouded peachy coloration, huge, milky white head. Lovely stuff.
Now, let's smell it…

Pithy, musty, pungent, deep down and slightly sour. Grapefruit and mango, fermenting pineapple juice, and ripe banana.

In the mouth, hops aplenty. All those bitter, hoppy citric fruit flavors pounce again on the palate. And the alcohol heat rises up a little. Crisp, delicious malt holds down the stage, hops dance and keep the tongue happy. Prickly, tingly, and utterly hoppy.

One excellent double IPA, great job, Dan & Deb!

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2011 09:35:00 | More by feloniousmonk

drabmuh

Maryland

3.68/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared by Thorpe, thanks I love an IPA that I have never had.

Beer served in a snifter, it is amber / brownish and clear with a white head, medium one finger, small and medium bubbles, some lacing and a nice retention, minimal lacing, looks fine.

Aroma is a little piny and earthy with a malty backbone.

There is nothing wrong with this IPA as a beer but as an IPA it is too malt forward to me, medium in body, sweet up front, an interesting finish but only moderately bitter. I think it is fine but it is not my style. When I want an IPA I want a more aggressive hop presence and finish. Not some "balanced" malty beer. It is a fine beer but not a repeat for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 16:18:00 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled shared at bu11zeye's 10,000th rating tasting.

The beer pours a yellow color with a white head. The aroma is full of pine and resin from the hops, as well as some orange citrus and biscuit malt. The flavor is similar. The dominant character is bitter resin from the hops, with some orange and a hint of biscuit malt. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. A very nice Double IPA that I am glad I got to try.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 03:33:46 | More by Mora2000

MasterSki

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Purchased at Discount Liquor in Milwaukee after picking largadeer up at the airport. Served in a Bell's tulip. This is about three months old, but at least I know it was refrigerated the whole time.

A - Pours with a voluminous three fingers of creamy white foam that settles to a thick cap and leaves behind glass-coating lace. Faintly transparent apricot skin color.

S - A mix of crackery and lightly toasted grains, pine, tropical fruits, light chive, and ripe oranges. Still quite pungent and hoppy considering the age - impressive.

T - Taste is a bit heavier on lemon and grapefruit flavors, withe notes of floral and grassy hops, and minimal malt sweetness. There's a touch of bread and yeast in the finish, but it's quite restrained. I was quite surprised by the ABV - nothing to be found here. Bitter crops up after about 6oz, but never gets out of hand.

M - Super dry, with crisp medium-high carbonation, and extremely resinous residuals. Sufficiently hefty, juicy, medium-full body.

D - I haven't been able to get up to WI in a while, and I was worried this would be a malty mess by the time I got to try it. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Why can't more breweries make hoppy beers that will maintain quality as long as this? The alcohol is sneaky, but I'd gladly drink a few bottles of this one in an evening.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 19:53:12 | More by MasterSki

emerge077

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brilliant gold, super sharp clarity, lasting foam. Drippy arcs of lace form as the glass is slowly sipped.

Aroma is flush with floral hoppage, pithy grapefruit, earthy mango. Dry, underscored with some fruity dankness and a slight whiff of alcohol. Somewhat reserved for a fresh Imperial IPA.

Moderate bitterness, the earthy hops build in the middle, and linger long into the aftertaste. Weedy, with a resiny earthiness of mango and apricot. Some light pale malt surfaces at room temperature. Feel is very light and dry, almost ghostly for being 9%. Personally I like a little more fullness, but it's got some fortitude nonetheless. Tangy citrus aftertaste is unmistakably Fantome somehow... well done! Plan to savor the rest of these.

Thanks Jay for this one...

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 04-14-2011 03:03:03

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 01:56:24 | More by emerge077

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to Rudzud for sharing.

Slight hazy golden honey color, very light fizzy head.

Nose has some booze and sweetness, lots of earthy grassy hops, light pine and hint of citrus, hint fruity apricot like.

Taste quite malty quite sweet and light booze. Earthy hops, quite bitter and astringent, light grassy herbal and pine hops with hint of citrus. Chewy spicy hops like chewing on a mouthful of pellets. Light creamy malts. finish is very bitter and astringent, dry long bitter spicy chewy hop pellets and barely drinkable.

Mouth is med bodied, light booze and decent carb.

Overall eh, way too much astringent spicy hops and too much malty sweetness which should be balanced but isn't somehow. There are two spikes of flavor on opposite ends of the spectrum, sweet malty, and bitter astringent, and neither are great alone, and they don't mesh well, so not a great DIPA IMO.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 12:36:31 | More by jlindros

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Pours a crystal clear golden copper, with 1-2 fingers of rich eggshell-white head (although it does have a bit more of an off-look to it at times as well). This retain with rich ½ finger of froth, which maintains some creamy edging in particular and leaves back a lot of sticky lacing which dots the sides of the glass. The aroma is floral and piney up front and is layered on top of herbal accents and a fresh mix of fruit, both of the juicy variety and the more bitter grapefruit type as well. Malts offer a supportive grainy sweetness underneath the hops, while I’m getting a good bit of peppery spice, which starts to emerge a bit as this warms.

The taste is fresh and bright with bitter grapefruit giving this a lot of flavor and being softened on the edges by a herbal feel and the sweetness of grains and ripe tropical fruit (pineapple and mango are really standing out to me). The finish is warm and spicy, with lingering notes of dry pine and pith, but I’m fortunately not finding this to be overly intense. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a light sharpness to the carbonation up front that then gets progressively more smooth and creamy as things spread out into the mouth, thanks to an underlying sleek oiliness from the hops. There is some warmth to this that intensifies those hop flavors a bit and it’s real borderline for me as to whether or not it’s interfering at all with this.

Coming from New Glarus, I had high hopes for this and I was very pleased to not be let down. Despite some age on this, the hop flavors here still had a fresh, clean, and flavorful pop to them, yet this was still very well balanced. My only complaint was with the alcohol content but I was even able to forgive even that for the most part when the overall experience was done as well as this was. I’m going to seek some fresher examples of this out in the future. It was pretty darn good.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 19:17:11 | More by Kegatron

kojevergas

California

3.88/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

New Glarus IIPA. Thumbprint series. More than 85 IBUs according to the label description. Self-identifies as a double IPA. Dry hopped. Bottle fermented. Brewed with English Maris Otter malt. 12 fl oz brown glass bottle with simple but stylish label art and foiled over branded pressure cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are very high given the brewery, which makes some fantastic beers. Acquired in a trade with the very generous Duff27. Thanks again, buddy!

Served cold, straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a nice four finger beige colour head of decent cream, pretty good thickness, and good (~6-7 minute) retention. Body colour is a very vibrant translucent copper. Clear. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Solid if typical for the style. I'm looking forward to trying it.

Sm: Lovely floral, piney, and nectary hop notes. A touch of citrusy grapefruit - but not the biting bitter grapefruit notes of many West Coast Style IPAs. Hoppy while still being pleasant and inviting. Pale malts. Some dank tropical fruit esters. Lightly soapy - which has me worried. An average strength aroma. No yeast character or alcohol is detectable.

T: Wow. Really evocative mango and tropical fruits - including pineapple. Juicy and delightful. Some juicy but not bitter grapefruit and some floral/nectary character rounds out the hop character nicely. There's some tangerine there too. I don't often have (Imperial)IPAs with such a developed mango emphasis. A bit piney too. Some grainy bready pale malts provide a supportive full body, allowing the hops to take center stage while keeping it refreshing and approachable. I do notice some alcohol when it hits my stomach, but it's very well concealed in the flavour profile. No yeast character comes through. A bit biscuity - did they use Amarillo? That's what really gets my juices going in an IPA. None of the soapy character from the aroma comes through - thankfully. Lightly grassy. I like the balance of the hops and malts; it's not too sparse with its malts like many beers in the style, and I think that's because they chose malts they knew would complement rather than distract. No hop bitterness comes through; it's all well disguised. Good depth of flavour and build. Well layered. I really like this. Good complexity and decent subtlety.

Mf: Smooth and wet enough to refresh yet lightly coarse enough to coax out the nuances of the flavours. Perfect carbonation. Great presence on the palate. Lightly oily. Not that creamy, but it doesn't need it. Clean and crisp. Complements the flavour profile quite well.

Dr: Very drinkable for the high ABV; I could easily put down a few of these in a night - and I'd want to. Would pair very well with spicy food. This is a solid IIPA from New Glarus that I'd definitely get again - preferably on-draught. Solid, balanced, and brewed with care. Really tasty stuff. Highly recommended.

B+

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 03:03:37 | More by kojevergas

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to kbutler1 for this one!

Poured into snifter.

Pours a finger of white head that settles to a thick ring. Leaves some thin lace rings along the way. Color is a clear bright golden yellow.

Aroma: Kind of fruity, but it has a big onion flavor. Grassy with some pine notes. A touch of alcohol shows. I get some mandarin flavors.

Taste: Not as hoppy as I was expecting. It has a bready malt profile. Grassy and piney. Onion flavors again. Not overly fruity either.

Taste: Bitter, but not that bitter. The bitterness lingers in the aftertaste, but that's it. Medium bodied, medium carbonation.

Overall, it was a decent IIPA, but nothing too crazy. Pretty malty, not that bitter, and not that fruity. Enjoyable though.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 19:45:14 | More by mothman

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.78/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks goes out to the trader who sent this one as an extra in a recent trade! Served from bottle into a balloon wine glass. Poured yellow-orange with a half finger white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, citrus, citrus hop, subtle onion, and onion hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, onion, onion hop, earth hop, citrus, citrus hop, and earth. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a fairly good brew. All the right aspects for a great IIPA were here in this one, however, the onion aspect in this one was pretty dominant. This helped to cover up the alcohol, but definitely beat up on your palate. Glad I got to try this one and I suggest you at least do the same.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 12:33:59 | More by thagr81us

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.03/5  rDev -29%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike.

The beer is hazy and straw yellow hued with a quarter inch of white head. The aroma brings a healthy malt bill, with some dank hops, hints of citrus, and a bold alcohol presence. The flavor is a balance of hops and malt, with the near 10% abv noticeable throughout. Dank hops and a bit of a sharp bite in the finish. Eh...this is such a competitive style, I don't see myself having this one again.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 22:36:21 | More by Huhzubendah

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

N8dieatz is the man for hooking me up with this bottle from his constant beer travels.

Clear sunshine, pale copper, and amber color. Vibrant bubbling. Atop that there is a head of foam with great retention.

The aroma is all hops. Mostly clean citrus and very crisp grass. Smells super clean, citrusy and earthy. This will be VERY hoppy it seems.

Brisk bitterness has earthy and citric flavors as the flavor base for the whole beer. Just some notes of caramel and toasted water crackers pop up here and there in between the bitterness.

Crisp and reiny palated hop bomb. This beer is for teh hopheads and hop aficionados. Still very good and worth a try for any beer enthusiast.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 00:27:51 | More by scruffwhor

dirtylou

Washington

4.4/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz "red-top", 2012 vintage

appearance: served in my great lakes chalice - bright, clear orange body, filmy white crest

smell: lush tropical fruit, pineapple, grapefruit rind, lemon zest

taste: even after a PtE, this stands up well as a great DIPA - bright citrus bouquet - blood orange, grapefruit, lemon, sugars, pineappel. a light boozyness, but quite nice

mouthfeel: medium oily body

overall: solid stuff, would sell year-round

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 00:30:06 | More by dirtylou

Bitterbill

Wyoming

4.23/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Big thanks go out to Ri0 for this bottle!

It pours a 24k gold with a small but steady head of foam and leaves some nice lacing behind.

Big notes of grapefruit and hints of tropical fruit in the smell. Deeper whiffs give me some presence of malt but the smell is definitely hop forward.

The taste is..well...yummy. Most DIPAs I've had usually have a good malt presence and this one is no exception. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of hop bitterness here, grapefruit/tropical fruit(more in the taste than the smell) to please most hop heads but I get a goodly amount of sweet malt to not put the brew overly bitter. I get quite a bit of warming from the alcohol but it's more of a an expected side product than a major player.

Great mouthfeel and pretty darned easy to drink, I like this DIPA muchly. Thanks again, Jared, for a fine drinking experience.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 16:15:40 | More by Bitterbill

kylehay2004

Florida

4.05/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Half finger head not lasting long on a hazy dull golden with a slight burnt orange hue. Nice lacing. Aroma is excellent with mostly tart generic citrus, candy sugar, earthy and herbal aromas and some pale malts. Flavor has a mild pale malt base with resins, musty and tart citrus, honey but overall a bit harsh. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Somewhat dry n the finish.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 02:12:38 | More by kylehay2004

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle courtesy of RichKrull (thanks Rich!). Like most New Glarus beers this was very well done. I haven't had a bad Unplugged series beer yet.

This poured a hazy orange-tinged copper with a HUGE head, it took a few slow pours to get everything into a pint glass with no foam spill-over. It smells perfectly citrus, grapefruit and lemon rind, some sweet resin, excellent.

Big hops flavors in the taste too, New Glarus nails another style. The malts play back-up here, letting the hops take over with massive citrus and tropical fruits up front. Lingering hops bite in the aftertaste but not all that strongly bitter.

Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 16:31:50 | More by TurdFurgison

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.19/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I have always admired the fruit beers from new glarus, but beet so/so on their other stuff. this one changes that, as it is a fantastic double ipa. pours super red, coppery and bright with a huge frothy off white head. the nose is more like a strong ale than an ipa, I smell booze and malt in balance with the absurd quantity of hops. lots of oils in this, sweeter, not a bitter bomb, thanks to a nice caramel and red malt backing. the hop profile is really unique, sort of piney, but also really fruity, like dried cranberries or pomegranates. really mineral heavy in the finish, along with an almost sticky hop feel. fuller bodied and a little sugary towards the end, but the carbonation is good and its actually a very drinkable beer for its size and depth. my only regret here was that I only had one. I don't know why it doesn't, but I wish this stuff had wider distribution. one of the more unique double ipas ive had in months, and one of the more hefty beers that wasn't the color of motor oil ive maybe ever had. top quality here folks.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 20:00:01 | More by StonedTrippin

nickfl

Florida

4.06/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a hazy, golden body. The head settles quickly and leaves decent lace.

S - Pungent citrus and tropical fruit hop aromas with a bit of toffee and sweaty dankness.

T - Pungent pine and sweat up front with pithy bitterness. Some dry toast in the middle with a finish of harsh bitterness and grapefruit.

M - Medium thick body, modately high carbonation, and a bitter finish.

D - The aroma is spectacular, but the flavor doesn't work nearly as well. The bitterness is harsh and kind of medicinal, but there really isn't quite enough malt to balance.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 02:04:51 | More by nickfl

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.43/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle poured into a Bruery tulip.
No date or info available on the bottle.

A - IIPA pours a clear golden yellow that's vibrant and unusually light for a double IPA but it's certainly welcome! A dense and lingering white head floats on top leaving some nice lace behind.

S - The juicy, fruity hop aroma is exactly what I had hoped for! Pineapple, mango, and lemon citrus combine with resin notes and floral hints above the well-rounded pale malt base.

T - Pineapple juiciness and exotic mango with a sliver of pine needle and resin floods the tongue all the while carefully backed by pale and pils malts. The hops do all the talking and I love what they're saying!

M - Light-to-medium bodied and surprisingly lacking bitterness, the IIPA is crisp and clean but juicy and dry. Figure that one out. No alcohol presence at ALL.

O - Wow. Awesome aroma abounds. The flavor is simple and straight forwards but delicious. I actually with there was just a bit more bitterness to it. One of the top-of-my-list DIPA's for sure.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2011 11:41:19 | More by BeerFMAndy

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

355ml bottle poured into tulip 16/7/12 thanks Masterski and Sean9689 for sending me the bottle

A golden yellow with lots of tiny bubbles struggling to make their way too the surface, a loose two finger head falls to a thin film rather quickly and leaves some random lace

S pineapple, pine, grapefruit with some booze and sweet malt, a nice mix of tropical citrus and pine

T some lemon and even more pine, the booze is well hidden but not entirely, slightly sweet and lots of rind and pine resin on the finish

M a nice bitter bite, tiny pinprick bubbles, and a strong aftertaste, not much booze felt on the way down but you know its in there soon enough

O this one went down a little too fast, its a palate wrecker but I don't mind at all, this one could hurt you if your not careful. A little higher grade here as the smell and taste were close but not quite 4.5

another thanks to Sean and Alex for getting this one too me, oh how I wish I had more access too the American craft scene

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 21:20:53 | More by wordemupg

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into a Weyerbacher tulip. Thanks to everyone who traded me one of these at DLD! Original review entered on 5/30/11.

A: Very pale amber body (totally clear, btw) with a finger of frothy white foam. Nicely pale DIPA, with good sticky lace. I'm looking forward to the hops, as this appearance promises malt won't be getting in the way. Awesome.

S: A little fainter than expected and hoped for, with herbal hops dominating. Some dry malts are noticeable, too, but this is really all about the dry, leafy, herbal hops. A little underwhelming, actually, but by no means unpleasant.

T: Malt sweetness comes out more than expected, but the hops still rule. Cleanly bitter herbal + grapefruit flavors finish things out. Crisp bitter finish.

M: Smooth, soft, and full of delicate, silky carbonation. Perfect.

O: While this was a tasty beer, I have such high regard for the brewery that anything that doesn't blow me away really disappoints me. On the plus side, the 9% doesn't show at all; I just wish the hops were a bit more powerful in the aroma and more complex overall. Drinking this side-by-side with CW Illumination, it was easy for me and Hopstoopid120 to agree that Central Waters makes the better DIPA.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2011 18:51:11 | More by woosterbill