Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Marshall, Michigan USA

12 oz bottle courtesy Polomagnifico. Pours cloudy copper with a thin head and a lot of sediment. Big malt, caramel, aroma and citrusy hops. Big malty caramel, toffee body with hints of bitter citrus hops. Has a slight bitter hop finish. Not sure of the age, but the hops are mellow. Has an almost barley wine feel to it, very tasty.

Single thanks to sprinkle. Very nice double. Sharp hops with a good hit of bitterness. Some bubble gum. Body is very full.

In short: A sweet sugary body, a lot of alcohol and a ton of resinous hops. Over-the-top but not unpleasant.
How: Bottle, relatively fresh (2 to 3 months old at most). Thanks to the simultaneous generosity of a few traders. You know who you are.
The look: Partly cloudy dark golden body topped by a very small off-white head
In long: Nose is sweet and resinous. Body is full, very full. A sensation of crunchy caramel candy bar. Obviously very sweet, to the point of being sugary. However the beer also has a ton of citrusy resinous hops. Funnily I didn’t get much alcohol taste but I had a strong burning sensation on my tongue after each sip. I usually despise those over-the-top extra-sweet extra-strong IIPAs but this one is acceptable. Not highly drinkable that’s a given, all in all about as refreshing as a San-Francisco July heat-wave.

Super deep copper coloured body with dark brown highlights and a very thin tan head. Aroma of potent hops, alcohol, malt, cherries and a bunch of caramel - a ton of flavour - no doubting that. Full-bodied; Assertive hoppiness up front with a backbone of malt and potent alcohol. Aftertaste shows caramel, yeast, pine cones, grapefruit, more hops and a long tingling alcoholic finish. Overall, a strong double IPA, perhaps overshadowed by the sweetness and alcohol. I liked this one, but definitely preferred the normal IPA! I sampled this wax-dipped twelve ounce bottle purchased from Merchant’s in Dearborn, Michigan during the Red Wings Victory Celebration on 06-June-2008, sampled on 05-July-2008 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

A very vigorous pour is only able to produce a two-finger thick, tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. It is fairly large bubbled, but doesn’t melt instantly. The beer is an unnatural, completely clear, deep cherry red color that shows a rich, cranberry stained amber color when held up to the light. The aroma smells of sticky, candied hops and hot alcohol; candied orange zest, ruby-red grapefruit, lychee, concentrated tangelo and candied pine tips are accentuated by a thick, caramelized malt note. The finish has strong notes of pine sap and hemp oil to it. Somehow this smells very clean, almost lacking in complexity some how; there is a fair amount of malt noticeable in the nose, but it seems stripped of its character.

Quite sweet tasting, but it is not as sweet tasting as I was expecting this 13% beast to be. It is still fairly viscous and chewy, but it almost comes close to being like a good double IPA. Hop flavors dominate of course with concentrated citrus / fruit notes up front (lychee, bergamot oil, tangelo and apricot), but substantial herbal notes of pine and especially earthy hemp in the middle and finish. Alcohol provides some substantial warming notes to the finish that actually lingers on in the throat for quite some time after each sip. This is bitter, but not nearly as much as one might thing, the hop character really focuses more on the hop flavor notes than the bitter notes. The malt flavors play a removed, secondary role here (as they should), but do contribute ample caramelized malt sugar notes that help support the hop character. A touch of toasty, biscuit-like malt can also be found floating through the flavor profile.

Not bad, but not all that great either. This was certainly worth a try, but it really is too strong in alcohol, for me, to be an IPA. I do like that it is not overly heavy though, but it is still not something I want to drink more than a few ounces of. Still this is not bad in small doses.

Bottle from StFun! Thanks Josh! Green wax, what ever that means... Poured into a snifter, no head. Dark amber in color. Smell of citrus and sweet hops. Smooth... Lots of malt character in this. Followed by a nice bitterness but not overpowering. Floral notes and kind of of an earthy taste. I would of never guessed it to be over 13 percent! Texture is a little thicker then most DIPA’s. Really good, I want more! Thanks again josh for the brew!

bottle by way of jw77 aka jw347 aka johnathan... beautiful hazy rich copper color with a permanent light tan head and lots of lace. super sweet aroma packed with caramel, light pine, mild citrus pith, alcohol and hop spice. the flavor is similar... actually, exactly the same. sweet, but only moderately considering how much sugar it takes to cover up 14% abv... why put in all those hops if yer just going to cover them up??? it leans on full bodied with a thick mouth feel. it leaves a sugary film in my mouth and throat. just like the previous posters have mentioned... not a bad hoppy BW, though.

Bottle courtesy of BOLTZ7555. Pours a hazy amber with a 2 finger beige head and great lacing. Nose is floral hops, pine and malt. Palate is caramel malts and citrus with a mild resin finish. Medium mouth feel. I was surprised to see the ABV on this one – it hides it nicely which is scary. Decent DIPA - not what I picture a DIPA to be, but good in its own right. Thanks Jason!