Mad River Steelhead Double IPA

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Blue Lake, California USA

Chunks of hops and yeast float about in a cloudy amber mess. Welcome to the hop family, as we run the gambit with citrus, floral and woodsy hops and a dash of caramel malt in a balancing attempt. But the malt couldn’t hang with the hop family and we end up with an unbalanced letdown that tastes overly floral and vegetal. It finishes dry and bitter as you’d expect from the hop family with a blandness I’d much rather do without.

Bottle from total wine. Amber and cloudy...nice head. Aroma is nice with a good dose of floral hops, sweet malt and some citrus notes. Flavor is not half bad at all. Very fruity and then finish has a perfect hop bite. Not overly bitter, but the hops speak through the malt very well. Good beer for the price.

Pours rocky creamy large off white head with excellent lacing. Body hue is a hazy amber. Hop aroma of heavy flowers, citrus, lemon (reminds me of bathroom sprays), and cheesy. The smell of apple, pear and heavy alcohol also present. Was not impressed with the flavor of this beer. Simi-sweet initial flavor followed by unpleasantness that finishes chalky and bitter. Maybe taste buds were messed up by previous IPA?

Draft at Mill Town in Chapel Hill. Pours a cloudy amber and orange / deep-gold with off-white head, and it left of lace on the glass. The aroma is surprisingly fruity with some bready notes. There was an oddly high level of berries in the aroma - like strawberry shortcake. The flavor is fruity with some hop flavor, malt sweetness, and more berries. Toffee flavors grow towards mid-palate which presents a firm bitterness and more strawberry. The finish is full with a clean, spicy hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is luuriously creamy and thick. Carbonation is released upon swishing it around so that it tingles the tongue, accentuating the spicy notes in the flavor. Overall - this was a very odd double IPA - mediocre at best... Too fruity (tainted keg lines that were serving a strawberry beer before???) and not dry enough.

Draught at R.F.D., Washington DC
Hazy amber color, creamy head. Good aroma of hops and caramel. Medium bodied, it has a medium sweet caramel flavor, good bitterness level, but not the amount of oils/resins that I look for. Pleasant.

hazy, light copper-gold body, gold highlight, light lacing, small white head; sweet aroma; sweet flavor--caramel, orange; alcohol; light carbonation, chewy; it’s okay.

Thanks to kegbear for this one! 12 oz bottle. Pours hazy burn orange with small off-white head. Aroma is citrusy, hops, pine and sweet caramel malts. Flavor is hops, orange, grapefruit, pine and caramel malts. Mouthfeel is sweet and syrupy. This brew lacks the hop punch I expect from a IIPA. More of a sessionable IPA than a double which hurts its score.

From bottle. Part of April Dayton Beertasting event. Pours deep golden. Aromas of citrusy hops and malt. Sweet toffee and grapefruit on the palate. Nice effort.