Castle Made of Clouds

Castle Made of Clouds by Gnarly Barley Brewing Co. was reviewed under #22A (Double IPA) of the 2015 BJCP Guidelines. The beer poured revealed a hazy, milky liquid that was golden in color. Very good carbonation that dissipated quickly, however, their was good head retention. The bubbles were small and tight. The aroma had a wonderful malt sweetness with hints of pineapple and citrus due to the hops utilized. The flavor of the beer had a nice malt sweetness rounded again with grapefruit and a hint of citrus flavors that blended well together. The hop bitterness was well rounded and smooth and was not sharp and astringent. Immediately, I could tell that this was a big beer in terms of alcohol ( 8.%) by the taste of it. It had a medium body and mouthfeel and the carbonation was just right. Not flat, yet not overly carbonated. The finish was nice and smooth with a nice little alcohol burn due to the strength of this beer (Double IPA). However, the beer tasted a little too sweet and the cause(s) can vary from lack of oxygenation during “knockout”, the health of the yeast and/or not enough pitched yeast for this big beer.