ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA

Brewed by Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Davis, California USA

RBSG 2005. Dark amber, not quite brown body with a small off white head. Big double IPA with lots of hops and plenty of malt in both aroma and flavour. Resin is more prominent than citrus in my mind, and the alcohol is a touch more pronounced than ideal. Not bad.

Aroma:hops and sugar... Appearance:light hazy red-amber,good white head... Flavor:grass,herbs,alcohol and sugar....

(22oz bottle) Sampled at RBSG 2005 in Montreal. Foamy yellow head with a sediment-filled amber body. Nose of sweet hops and candy. A heavily malted coat overshadows the the Hi-C hop undertones. A malty imperial IPA - who’d a thunk it?

Cloudy red-brown color with a thin, fine head. Has a sweet, malty aroma with some dark hops and citrus. Flavor is sweet and malty on the attack which fades quickly revealing lots of hops bitterness then finishes with alcohol characteristics and lingering bitterness.Although it is an interesting progression of sensations it feels a little out of balance.

Soapy and creamy off-white head. Bright coppery amber color. Aroma... caramelly butterscotch hops... nice and fairly big. Taste is a general resiny caramel pine. Its a typical California IIPA, but good nonetheless.

Pours a hazy ruby-amber color, it is topped by a frothy, long lasting, hop induced, two finger thick head that is a tan color. The aroma is pretty hoppy with notes of pine, a certain herbal quality and of course citrus (most notably grapefruit). The beer has lightly sweet malty notes of caramel up front, but then quickly moves to a solid astringent/ herbal bitterness that lingers in the finish. This beer is fairly light on the body, and could perhaps use a bit more malt to balance the ample hop rates. That bitterness really lingers on the tongue, interesting. This beer is a lot more aggressive, and tastier, than I was expecting from my limited sampling of this breweries wares. It seems a bit out of balance though, even for a double IPA, and I would like to see more of an emphasis on fresh flavor and aromatic hoppy notes as opposed to the bitterness. There is some hop flavor here though, there are notes of bitter herbs, lots of pine and a hint of citrus.

Courtesy of Wohlfs. Amber/mahogany in color. Decent head fades to a ring of film. Huge sweet caramel malt aroma. Plenty of bitter hops, just not alot of character, sort of flat bitterness. Flavor much the same, malt bill is there, lots of caramel and cereal grains, flat bitterness. Residuel earthy bitterness in the finish. Medium carbonation, creamy mouthfeel.

Cloudy rusty amber color with a medium white head. Oily, orange rind aroma with spicey spruce. Strong effervescent stemmy citrus hops in the flavor along with a touch of alcohol. An enjoyable but run-of-the-mill IIPA.