Foothills Seeing Double IPA

Brewed by Foothills Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA

Growler, sampled at the 1st Annual Shenandoah Beer Throwdown, courtesy of TURDFERGUSON. Thanks, Sam! Nice appearance- mostly clear fruity deep prangey amber with a nice tacky tight white head. Aroma is amarillo hops- porangey citrus with some cat piss and a moderate sweet malt backbone. Lots of bitter hops in the flavor alogn with more citrus and especially grapefruit and some pine needle - and sap- sticky tacky and bitter finish with more cattiness. Nice DIPA.

Pours a fairly dark amber with a small off-white head and very light lacing. Citrus hop aroma. Great balance of malts and hops makes this a very drinkable double IPA, but I was expecting a hoppier beer. Definitely a brew worth trying.

Growler, sampled at the 1st Annual Shenandoah Beer Throwdown, courtesy of TURDFERGUSON. Thanks, Sam! Pours a hazy, orange-amber color; light off-white head with patchy lacing. Solid amounts of orange and citrus hops in the aroma; resiny, fresh, and crisp overall; generous nose. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy, resiny hoppiness upfront (earthiness, oranges, and citrus); some sweet candy sugar and biscuity malts; very generous, resiny, dripping hop character; excellent double IPA. Lengthy finish: tongue-numbing bitterness, oranges, citrus, and mineral zestiness; lots and lots of well-represented hops.

Had it on draft at Sawmill Tap Room in Raleigh, NC. Very good, hops seemed more aromatic than bitter, I can definitely handle a hoppier flavor than this, but still very good.

In short: Plenty of caramelized malts, nice resinous fruity hops but unfortunately alcohol too apparent. Very good nonetheless.
How: From a growler, post-Dark-Lord-Day 2008 party. Unknown generous soul.
The look: Dark orange body topped by a small off-white head
In long: Nose is fruity hops with a strong citrus/apricots aroma. A well malted body, lots of caramelized malts in this one. Hops profile is resinous, somewhat citrusy, some coniferous tree juice. I suspect a lot of Centennial hops in there and maybe some Cascade because its hop profile is somewhat reminiscent of my beloved Corne Du Diable. The beer falls apart in the finish with too much alcohol and sweetness. Alcohol that is apparent all the way through comes to bite you in the end. A good IIPA that could have been great. Definitely requires resample as I was pretty inebriated when I had it and I was already seeing double, I though I was drinking a Quadruple IPA.

On tap at The Bier Garden, Asheville. Nice sugary-sweet and hoppy aroma to this one, with apricots and resin, and also a bit of bitter metallic funk. Deep amber-orange with some haze, topped with an off-white lacing creamy head. Heavy body with mdium smooth carbonation, quite a mouthful, with a light alcohol warming. Starts with an initial burst of brown sugar and big grapefruity hops. After this, the malty sweetness takes over and would be cloying but for the big bitter hop finish that segways into a medium bittersweet after. A bit of alcohol, too. Decent DIPA, but a bit hevy handed in the finish.

Pretty much the total package on this one. On tap at Village Tavern in Raleigh. Delicious IPA, highly recommended.

On tap at the Flying Saucer, Raleigh. NIce deep orange pour, with a slightly cloudy body and a fairly notable head. Very dank hop aroma is promising, with So-Cal juiciness emerging in the nose and then fairly exploding in the taste. It’s not excessively bitter, though that’s in there, but is more of a heavily fruity IIPA with some substantial malts in there to contribute to the sweetness and also to balance it out. It actually compares favorably with Avery’s Maharaja. Dynamite fresh IIPA from a fantastic NC brewery.