Alpine Beer Company Exponential Hoppiness

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Alpine, California USA

Had this one at the RB Pittsburgh tasting. Very reserved scent for the hop bomb that was to ensue. Extremely nice pour with a decent head, gold/yellow liquid. Flavor..hmm, how do I put this. There is maybe a hop or two in there. Are you a fan of the style? This is where it is at.

Big thanks goes out to Beerman6686 Dan for this special brew! Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 7/9/2009 Pittsburgh RB tasting extravaganza (PGHRBEXT) at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever I see a spread of bottles like I did there. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we served! For example, how about this beer; Exponential, again I am not qualified to rate this. Pale yellow lager appearance. Hoppy aroma from a distance. Taste is rudely hoppy with bitter fruit. Turpentine and handsoap with a mouth coating bad-mannered appeal. Wew, what else can be said about this brew except that if you like IIPA, you better go try this. Freshly pine sappy and tar. Not my cup of tea but hey, did I say it was on style? Long lingering bitter finish that never ends. Beerman, you ruined my taste buds!

This one poured a very light amber color with a big white head. Aroma could be noticed from 2 feet away. Just a punch in the face of citrus and pine, also some risidual sweetness as well. I was afraid that the aroma would lead to a taste let down which happens with many IPA’s, but not this one. Loads of fresh cut pine trees, mango, and sweet sugarcane wood taste. Fairly thick, but does not show any traces of the 11% at all.

On cask at Blue Palms. Let me say this first, I would have preferred not to have this on cask, I think it is a beer that has more of its complexity brought out with a touch more carbonation and a slightly colder serving temperature. That doesn’t make sense, but in my opinion it seemed to muddled as featured at Blue Palms. Nonetheless, I was ecstatic to finally be able to try this one. Appears orange-gold, cloudy, and without much head. Aroma has grapefruity and citrusy hops, but also another dimension of vanilla and oak sweetness. A balanced aroma for sure. Flavor builds rather than jumps out at you, not exactly what I was expecting. There are hops, but also an underlying maturity to this drink, sort of a oakier version of Southern Tier’s OA Unearthly. Some dried fruit, vanilla, and citrus. Finish is bitter but balanced. Very good, I hope one day to have this again from the brewery or on tap to give it a fair shake.

Growler fill from the friendly folks at the brewery. Pours a light golden amber color with two full fingers of head. Great aroma of sweet tangerines, grapefruit, and tropical fruits. Flavor of pine and grapefruit along with a solid malt backbone. Some bitterness but also slightly sweet. The oak from the dry-hop are detectable, but the high alcohol is absolutely not. Light bitterness in the finish. Altogether this DIPA is extraordinarily balanced and light without the often over-the-top bitterness/stickiness of others in this style. Yet another reason that San Diego is awesome.

On tap at Stone Bistro. Clear dark gold pour, sticky white head, with nice lacing. Citrus, grapefruit, tropical fruit, pine, resinous hops, caramel malt, melon, and floral notes. A very juicy IIPA, lots of hops.

growler thanks to weibull (from BA). Took a lot of trading firepower to obtain this bad boy. Pours a clear, light-golden color with a nice white head. Nose is wonderful grass, pine and mandarin oranges. I could have smelled this all day. Fortunately, I got a hold of this incredibly fresh. Taste was great citrus and pine with caramel malt to offset. Mouthfeel was creamy and smooth with a nice bitterness. This reminded me of Pliny the Elder. Very impressed with this. Truly top-three IIPA.

On tap at O’Briens. Rating 2000. Color was a dark gold with a whitish head. Aroma was great; citrus, pine, grapefruit and flowers. Flavor was dangerously drinkable; can’t believe its 11 percent. Nuanced and hoppy, the flavor is a great blend of grapefruit, melon, flowers, and citrus. Palate was nice, almost creamy. Top notch beer.