Blue Frog The Big DIPA

Brewed by Blue Frog Grog and Grill
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Fairfield, California USA

Pale, clear amber with good head and lacing. Aroma is very bitter but with a touch of acetone. Taste is only modestly hoppy. Was expecting much more. Finish is slightly medicinal.

Courtesy CaptainCougar. Pours a slightly hazy orange, with a small white head. Smells of decent hops, but not overwhelming as you might expect. Alot of fruity orange and grapefruit citrus is mixed in there with the hops. The flavor is also seemingly more citrus than big hops, which was disappointing to me. When I think of a California double IPA, I think big, juicy hops. Light biterness in the finish, mostly fruity. Not an impressive brew whatsoever. Really no identity.

Corked bottle and served in my GI IPA tulip:

First off, WTF is with the low ratings? Sure this isn’t top 100 material but it also is not a frickin 2.76 beer either. What the F are U people drinking?

Cloudy bottle conditioned amber hue with a fading frothy white head and good lace. The aroma has notes of orange zest, apricot, grapefruit, bready and caramel malts, a lot of pepper and fennel spice esters, and a hint of woody dryness.

The taste is a bit of letdown after the nose BUT it is not that awful. Sweet and syrupy with a layer of pungent hop bitterness. If this was fresher (aka dry-hopped) it would rock. I also get a good amount of fruit and hop spice towards the finish. The mouth feel is lush and medium-bodied, warming and slightly phenolic.

I fear that the lemmings have piled on this beer. Sure it is hardly world-class but it is not even remotely as bad as some made it out to be. Try it with an open mind, thank you.

Bottle. What is with that friggin cork? Light to moderate malt note of caramel, heavy aromas of flowers, pine and orange, light broth for the yeast, and pepper and a light fruitiness in the background. Head starts large then thins out, is frothy white, has fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is a murky amber/orange. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic, then finishes lightly acidic and moderate to heavy bitter. Palate is light to medium, watery, and has a soft carbonation. It finishes a little metalic. Not as bad as I expected, but the odd aftertaste ruins the flavor a bit.

I was looking for more - the hop load of a typical double must have escaped this batch. the bottle design and "Dipa" name are rad and show some thought and dedication - if only as much went into the beer. Pours a dirty cloudy orange with a full head. Not very bitter for a Double, flavor is rather earthy and spread out, rather than a sharp hop attack. Palate is a bit slithery and after taste is all alcohol. I would have less opposition and aggravation towards this beer if it wasn’t played as a Double and didn’t cost the apx $8-9 if I remember correctly. This is an average beer, in an above average package, at an above average price. Well done marketing guy!

Almost Belgian spice nose with some mild penols and biscuity malts. Hugely carbonated and sweet on the palate. Bready and sweet with very soft bitterness. So NOT a IIPA.

Pours a slightly hazy copper-ish orange-ish gold-ish color with big white foam head. The aroma reminds me of the spicy yeastiness of a Belgian Ale. There’s also sweet malts, hints of toffee and light citrus malts in the nose. Doesn’t really smell like an IIPA. Nice full spectrum of flavors with sweet malts, toffee malt, biscuit malt and yeast. Seems like a malty Belgian IPA. The citrus hops are mild in bitterness for the style but I get a decent amount of citrus sweet late addition hoppiness. Tasty off beat IIPA.

The cork was a bitch to get out. Poured a very hazy amber with a large off-white head. The aroma is corky and phenolic. Biscuit malt and earthy hops. The flavor is a little better. Earthy and floral with some citrus at the end. An odd bitterness runs through the whole flavor. Medium body with a lively carbonation. Warming.