Marin Eldridge Grade White Knuckle Double IPA

Brewed by Marin Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Larkspur, California USA

Several samples at GABF 06. Hazy yellow with a sitcky white head. Huge grapefruit and pine hop aroma. Nothing but hop flavor and a very clean bitterness. Light on the palate with a dry finish. Top notch.

Bottle. Pours a bit cloudy with a nice head and golden to copper color. The aroma is very flowery with some fruit notes. The flavor is more of the same, flowery hoppiness some spiciness and a long lasting bitter sweet finish. Very nice body and very smooth on the palate. One of the best DIPAs one can find.

Bottle obtained in a trade with <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?U target=blank>DarkElf, thanks Stephen. Rich copper in colour. Long lasting white head, great lace. The aroma is of rich floral hops, orange citrus, pink grapefruit, some sweetness. The flavour is off floral hops upfront, the citrus (oranges and grapefruits) and pine come in next, great caramel malt sweetness. Intense bitter mouthfeel, medium/large body, high carbonation. Finishes with a very long and lingering citric bitterness. Nice and nowhere near being over-the-top.

On tap at Toronado. Pours a deep orange color with little head. Huge hop/floral aroma, which is definitely pronounced in the flavor. Great citrus bite, as well. Body is a bit syrupy, but drinkable. An outstanding DIPA.

Huge rich powerful complex hop aroma, you got your citrus,your pine, your floral your grain,its all here in one of the biggest and most varied hop aromas around,your standard dark orange amber color,a big heavy assault of all those hops in the taste,with sticky sweet malt trying unsuccessfuly to back it up. One dimensional,powerful,its all hops and another great one to store away

22oz bottle, "cellared" in my regular fridge for several months before I got around to it. Poured a gorgeous cloudy orange into a tulip with a large rapidly-diminishing light tan head. Excellent lacing. Very interesting nose! Immediately recognizeable as an IPA (sweet maltiness and big piney hops with a floral whisp) but with a very distinct <em>pineapple</em> note. Wonderful and inviting. One of the very few best noses I’ve come across. Flavor is huge bitter hops and just as huge sweet malt. Floral and pine with pineapple sweetness again and some apple as well. Outstanding balance for a double IPA. Lovely sweet finish with lingering (but not unpleasant) hop bitterness. Massive body, chewy/syrupy and even a bit creamy. I love almost everything about this beer! The only downside is that the sweetness can become just a bit cloying by the end of a whole bomber.

25 oz bomber purchaced right there in Marin County. Dark Golden pour with a great head that lasts for the whole glass. Awesome aromas of sweetness and sweet citrus. Ruby red grapefruit and tangerine. Bright Cherries under all that citrus too. Flavors were also very hoppy as expected. The citrus turned to pine. Very piney and grassy flavors. Maltiness is really overshadowed by all those hops. Bitter aftertaste and no alcohol can be dectected at all. At least not in the flavor. I did feel it though.... Pretty tasty

22 oz. bottle courtesy of Darkelf – Thanks a lot Stephen! Ok, now this is hoppy! Piney, resiny, citrusy hop-a-saurus is released from the bottle after opening. Simply delicious aroma. Flavor is quite simple but well balanced with hops, malty sweetness and some peppery spiciness and bitterness. Not a huge, extreme or the most original beer by any means, but a balanced, straight-forward and well-crafted example of west coast DIPA. I’m convinced.