I usually try to start of these posts with some little anecdote. A story about my history with the beer or the brewery, interesting circumstances behind how I got or chose the beer, something like that. I've got nothing today. I love IPAs. This is an interesting looking imperial IPA. I felt like giving it a shot. That's about it. To the beer!
Double Simcoe pours a deep, nearly opaque burnt orange color. It's almost reddish brown. It's topped off by a thick layer of white head that left great lacing down the sides of the glass with every sip.
The aromas on this beer are hops, hops, and more hops. Big pine aromas with some more subtle earthy and floral notes. I'm thinking this might just be my kind of beer.
The body on this beer is pretty big. Kind of thick, almost chewy, very hearty. The hops come out swinging immediately. Piney and bitter but subdued somewhat by a toasty biscuity caramel malt presence. That malt does its job, it balances the beer, but it doesn't stand a chance against the onslaught of Simcoe hop flavors. Massive dank, piney, oily, resinous, hop flavors coat the mouth. A fruity tartness comes out toward the end. The ABV makes itself known with a nice warming sensation that mingles with a long lingering hop bitterness.
This is a massively big and bitter beer. Yet somehow it still manages to feel subtle, complex, and measured. It's astounding the depth and complexity of flavor that can be acquired from only a single hop variety. If you're a hophead like me you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
HD
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