It’s a nice Sunday evening, and I’m watching the Amazing Race. Earlier in the day, I was cleaning up in the basement, and found a stash of beers I was hiding from myself. I’m not sure how this beer ended up in there. While it probably ages well at 9.5% ABV, it’s not meant to last. The date on the bottle is 11/7/11, so it’s not too bad (a little over a year old), but it was time to drink it. Fortunately, I’ve had it before, so I know what to expect.

Location: Poured into a snifter glass from the 22oz bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 9.5% ABV, 100 IBUs, 8 SRM, ~ 300 Calories

Ingredients: Malt: Premium Two-Row (Metcalf & Kendall varieties), Munich, Simpson’s Light Crystal. Hops: Bittering—Warrior, Columbus; Late Kettle—Cascade, Centennial; Dry Hops—Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe.

Appearance & Aroma: It’s clear and golden-amber in color with almost no head, only a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass. There’s also a decent citrusy-piney-grassy hop aroma.

Taste & Feel: The body is full and the mouthfeel is somewhat smooth with a carbonation and hop bite on the end of each sip. There’s a big resin-like hop flavor up front with a good amount of malty breadiness. In the middle, there’s an almost honey-like sweetness in the background, and the resiny flavors are joined by some piney and citrusy hop flavors – which all grow through the finish. While there’s a decent amount of bitterness in the finish, hop flavors definitely dominate, and last for a while in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: This is a really big hoppy beer with lots of resiny, piney, and citrusy hop flavors. I usually like to pair a big, flavorful beer like this up with an equally flavorful, solid meal. Therefore, for me, the perfect pairing for this beer would be a big, juicy cheeseburger. Both the beer and the burger would equally knock down the other as you take each bite or sip.

Overall Impression: As I mentioned, I’ve had this beer before, and admittedly, it’s one of my favorites. As a hophead, I’ve learned I tend to enjoy hop flavors more than the bitterness they give the beer, and this beer has a nice, complex mix of hop flavors which mix together nicely. Overall, this is a very good double IPA with hop flavors that I love. If you like hoppy beers, this is one of my favorites, and (in my opinion, as I’m sure others likely disagree) I’d easily put it on par with Avery’s Maharaja and Bell’s Hop Slam.

My Rating:

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