Tropical & Juicy

The aroma of hops in this beer wasn’t very profound or strong, but rather muted when compared to other Double IPAs. I still detected hints of pine and resin aromas in the nose. The beer had a light copper color that was somewhat hazy and featured nice carbonation and very good head retention. The flavor of this beer featured an even balance of malt and hops. The hop bitterness and flavor themseles were very soft and subdued. This beer had the necessary hops to make it a Double IPA, but it was still very mellow. The timing of hop additions can have a strong impact on flavor: mid- to late hop additions in the boil will make the beer more hoppy in flavor if added in copious amounts (like a Double IPA). It appears that in this beer most of the hops were added in the initial boil (bittering) rather than the mid- to late stages (flavoring). I feel that it gives this beer a more mellow and rounded hop bitterness and flavor rather than a sharp one associated with most IPAs and Double IPAs. I also found that this Double IPA had the necessary alcohol strength, though this element was quite deceptive; again, instead of noticeable Double IPA-strength alcohol warmth, the flavor was instead very mellow and smooth. This is a very nice Double IPA approached with different brewing methods than most.