Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA

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

12 oz. bottle via trade with 11026 - Pours a hazy amber color with a small off white head that faded quickly. Light spotty lacing. Aroma is resin, citrus, floral and esters. Flavor is sweet caramel and esters. Medium to full body. Nice smooth finish with no lingering bitterness. Alcohol is slightly noticeable. A nice 2IPA/Barleywine. Thanks Steven.

12 oz Bottle via Styles (thanks!). Pours a dark hazy reddish amber with a tiny head. Nose is like a barleywine. Very sweet, lots of fruity esters, especially pineapple. Tastes like it smells. Much closer to a Barleywine than a IIPa. Some fruity esters, wood, lots of caramel malts, some older pineapply and piney hops, and a strong alcohol finish. Perhaps this is an older bottle. Of course at 13.6% ABV, perhaps this is just the effect of so much alcohol and malts. Full bodied with a syrupy mouthfeel.As an IIPA it is not that good, but as a Barleywine it is quite good!************4/9/07-rerate-orig rating was 7/3/7/4/15 12 oz bottle VIA trade (thanks to whoever sent this!). Bottle marked march 06 in sharpee marker. Pours a avery hazy dark orange with a tiny white head. Smells more like a barleywine than an IIPA. Tastes like a hoppy barleywine as well. Lots of fusel alcohol, fruity easters from the yeast, a moderate amount of butterscotch (diacytl), and lots of earthy & citrus hops. Full body with an almost syrupy mouthfeel. Low carbonation. As an IIPA, it is not very good, as a Barleyine, is is ok and within style, and the 13.6% abv is hidden to the point that there is almost no heat (just a bit of warmth), but you do know it is there. I am rating this as to how well i enjoy it, but knocking off a few tenths for style.

Pours a very cloudy golden hue with a minimal white head. Aromas of citrus and pine. Mouthfeel is thick with flavors of pine, grapefruit and a smooth finish. For how string this brew is, the alcohol is mellowed.

12oz bottle via trade with Pailhead. Aroma: Strong sweet malt aroma with a strong caramel presence. Yeast and some dark fruits come through strong, as well. Some piney and spicy hop aromas. Alcohol is there, but not hot. Appearance: Coppery-brown in color and hazy. A few floaties spotted. No head to speak of. No lacing. Flavor: Slightly sticky sweet malt with a strong caramel and light honey flavor. Some bready yeastiness. Piney and resinous hops with a touch of spice. Alcohol is more noticeable than in the aroma, but works well. Palate: Full bodied. Medium carboantion. Strong alcohol warming in back of mouth and throat. Overall: This is one of those IIPA’s that is more like a hopped up barleywine. Very tasty, and a nice cap to the evening.

Thanks to trbeer for the trade... This bottle is about 1.5 years old. Appears a transparent, mahogany amber with a creamy, off-white head that slowly fades out. Scattered streaks of lacing are left all around the glass. Smell is of biscuity, hoppy, brown sugar, caramel, mild astringency, very mild oxidation(hardly noticable), resinous pine, and honey. Taste is of the same aromas highlighted by the honey flavored malts jumping out of the sugary, bitter brew. Mouthfeel is syrupy, barleywine-esque, with a sugary, hoppy mix. This one still seems hot, even after letting it mellow for over a year.

Popped open one of these baby’s on a cool fall night and wow what an expirience it was. Pours a murky orangish color with no head what so ever, but it did have alot of settlement at the bottom . I was expecting the beer to be very over powering of abv, but to my suprise, it was hardly there at all. I detected some grafruit,malt and hops in this beer. I loved this beer. I’m glad I have one more left to save for a while

Poured a hazy golden amber color with a thin, off white head that left sticky lacing on the glass. Aroma of sticky caramel malts, pine, resin, citrus fruits, and a bit of alcohol. Taste was thick and syrupy, with more pine, tobacco, resin, light grapefruit citrus, cloying caramel malts, and alcohol.

Bottle from Northerntimber. This is the most rediculous example of a double IPA I think I have ever had. I wanted a nice hoppy beer, instead i got this SUPER strong, thick elixer of a beer. It reminds me of sherry or a mild cognac, with LOTS of alcohol. Super hot, like doing a shot of tequila. VERY sweet. There must be 1000 calories in this bottle. This beer smells great and looks nice, but overall it’s kinda gross. Sorry, I dont know what you guys see in these sugar bombs.