White Knuckle Double IPA - Marin Brewing Company

beagle75

Iowa

4.13/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass.

A: Clear, medium amber color with less than one finger of off-white foam head. Moderate lacing remains on the glass.

S: Sweet caramel malt is complemented with resinous pine and darker citrus hops. The intense smell is enticing and appropriate, but not at all boozy.

T: Begins sweet, with fermented toffee, concentrated orange citrus and floral hop aromatics, and moderate bright acidity. Husky pale malt emerges in the middle while dryness gains some ground. Bitterness becomes robust in the finish, slightly astringent, with plenty of juicy herbaceous plant stem. Trace fumes of alcohol are detected, but are mostly limited to the middle.

D: Thin to medium viscosity, slightly sticky on the palate, with low carbonation.

M: This beer hits very near the sweet spot, deliciously sweet and pungently hoppy, like Deschutes Hop Henge but with a few more sharp edges. At just 8% abv the trade-off is a fair one, making this DIPA satisfying, drinkable, and far more memorable than Marin's IPA.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2011 06:33:18 | More by beagle75

aflies

Arizona

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-22-2013 01:35:44 | More by aflies

jeff1973

California

4/5  rDev -4.1%

03-29-2013 20:17:21 | More by jeff1973

EricTheRed

New York

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

03-08-2013 03:39:29 | More by EricTheRed

leodarko

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

03-02-2013 23:58:16 | More by leodarko

emile772

California

4/5  rDev -4.1%

02-24-2013 02:46:33 | More by emile772

kojevergas

California

2.64/5  rDev -36.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

8.0% ABV confirmed. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with 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 above average. Acquired earlier tonight at an L.A. bottle shop. No best before date. "Double India Pale Ale."

"Serve at 45 F." Served straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a three finger beige colour head of nice cream and thickness, and quite good (~6 minute) retention for the high ABV. Body colour is a clear translucent copper-amber of good vibrance. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Thin sticky lacing as the head slowly recedes. It's par for the style - not unique or special - but the retention is impressive and it has no obvious flaws. I'm excited to try it.

Sm: Floral hops, nectary hops, grapefruit zest (from hops), hop bitterness, and light vague pine. Pale malts. Soapy (too long in primary, methinks). Light resins. The soapiness bothers me, but hopefully it'll turn out alright. A moderate to fairly strong aroma. No yeast character or alcohol is detectable.

T: Clean and soapy. Some detergent notes. Grapefruit. Floral hops. Hop bitterness (a sign of lack of balance). The pale malts lack backbone or body, and can't subdue the hops adequately. I don't get any yeast. A bit of alcohol comes through, but I wouldn't dare call it boozy. Soap is dominant; this definitely spent too long in primary. Bright citrus in the third act. Resiny, with a terrible nectary finish that doesn't do it for me at all. Boy, this lacks balance; suffers from the biggest IPA flaw of all. IPA brewing is not about dumping more hops in than the next guy; balance and subtlety are key features. This has neither. Bold and assertive but lackluster.

Mf: Smooth, soft, wet, chewy. Good carbonation. Not bitey or sharp. Poor palate presence, though. Unrefreshing. The mouthfeel is decent for the style, but is far from ideal considering the flavour profile. A bit thin, actually. Somewhat oily.

Dr: Drinkable but underwhelming. ABV is hidden okay. I wouldn't get this again; it's poorly concocted. I wish American breweries would figure out what real IPA brewing is all about - balance, balance, balance. None of that here. This soapy IPA will satisfy many, but I need more from my IPAs. I wouldn't bother with this again.

C-

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 05:50:16 | More by kojevergas

CEDAMA

California

5/5  rDev +19.9%

02-19-2013 03:13:16 | More by CEDAMA

BlackTuesday

California

3.25/5  rDev -22.1%

02-18-2013 04:43:33 | More by BlackTuesday

BestTacosInTown

California

4/5  rDev -4.1%

02-17-2013 22:11:10 | More by BestTacosInTown

litheum94

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

02-15-2013 03:42:41 | More by litheum94

jvillefan

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

02-08-2013 17:36:15 | More by jvillefan

OTB

California

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

My first time with this beer. Pours a really nice dark amber with a nice off white head that fades leaving some nice trails down the inside of my tulip. The nose offers up some grapefruit rind, a little floral kick and some sweet baked honeyed bisquit. The flavor profile is where I was taken away by this beer, big sweet red grapefruits, honey coated citrus and a nice bittering from the hop bill. The mouth is fine, sweet oily resins drape your tongue leaving a sweet honey drenched tangerine flavor that lasts for minutes. I like this beer a lot, its well made and delivers on all levels.
Highly recommended !

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 03:31:33 | More by OTB

baybassboy

California

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

02-02-2013 18:28:57 | More by baybassboy

daysinthewake

California

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

01-19-2013 00:40:53 | More by daysinthewake

westcoastbeerlvr

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

01-10-2013 21:17:41 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

jimilayne

New York

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

12-07-2012 00:40:27 | More by jimilayne

surfotog

California

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

11-18-2012 00:34:52 | More by surfotog

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

10-25-2012 01:59:24 | More by t0rin0

beerpadawan

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

08-27-2012 16:26:32 | More by beerpadawan

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

08-27-2012 16:02:33 | More by mick303

Nerudamann

Arizona

3.65/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass.

Look – orange/light amber in color, hazy, with about a finger or so’s worth of cream-colored foam that dissipates somewhat quickly.

Smell – hoppy, but with a hint of orange peel or maybe some other blended fruits.

Taste – pretty hoppy in taste, but not terribly so in bite. There is a bitterness, but it approaches only in the middle. Pungeant, but not overwhelmingly so. Aftertaste is bitter, and it only gets strengthened by each sip.

Mouthfeel – pretty well balanced, but leans a little more on the watery side.

Overall – not a bad brew at all. Interesting to think about and taste.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 04:41:10 | More by Nerudamann

ellswrth

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

07-24-2012 03:32:53 | More by ellswrth

nataku00

California

4.15/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into a tulip glass. Beer pours a hazy copper color with half a finger of soft off white head. Head dissipates to a layer of bubbles and leaving a bit of sticky lacing. Carbonated with plenty of tiny bubbles.

Nose is grapefruit peel and pine dominated, backed by caramel malt sweetness. Huge nose on this that wafted from the bottle as soon as you open it.

Taking a sip, follows the nose, bitter grapefruit and pine hop flavor hits the tongue first, mellowing into sweeter citrus and caramel malt mid tongue. Lingering grapefruit peel bitterness.

Medium body with plenty of carbonation. Pretty easy to drink beer and flavorful.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2012 22:39:44 | More by nataku00

david131

Michigan

3.38/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- Pours a hazy dark orange liquid with a thin but creamy off white news that leaves some nice lacing.

S- Grass, pine, and caramel dominate with some fruit and oddly noticeable alcohol on the tail end. Not all that complex and a bit old school.

T- Sweet caramel, grass, and pine. There is a bit of smoky flavor as well, which is a bit odd. The maltiness is a bit excessive.

M- Sweet and kind of bitter. The carbonation is a bit lacking.

O- For the style, this is pretty old school and not all that interesting. Pretty rich and malfunction, especially when considering the alcohol content.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 06:12:17 | More by david131