4 Pines – Australian DIPA

4 Pines – Keller Door Small Batch Australian DIPA, 2017, 9%ABV, 500ml bottle

Drank on 19/12/17 from Cellarbrations Yokine.

Appearance: 2.5 – Orange, clear, nice head on pouring with nice lacing

Smell/Aroma: 2.5 – Sweet malts, slightly fruity, mango, pineapple, some dried fruits, a little citrus.

Taste: 3.5 – Big bitterness, but nicely rounded, pine, a bit resinous, citrus bitterness, grapefruit pith, really unsure what else, a slight peep of sweet malts and maybe the 9% alcohol thats very very well hidden. Resinousness and sweet malts appear more as it gets warm.

Mouthfeel/Palate: 2.5 – Not cloying, no viscosity, just big hops bitterness that then fade nicely ready for another sip. Does get a bit more clingy as it gets too warm.

Overall: 3.5 – Surprisingly good for such a big beer. Not a fan of big IPA’s usually because of the big sweet malt character that comes along with them and the almost sickly cloying character they can have. This doesn’t have that, though I still couldn’t drink too much of this, regardless of the ABV.

http://4pinesbeer.com.au

Black Brewing – XXXPA Imperial IPA

Black Brewing – XXXPA Imperial IPA, 2017, 9.8%, 330ml bottle.

Drank on 3/12/2017, from Bottle-O, Vic Park.

Appearance: 2.5 – Orange amber, clear, nice white head on pouring, not much carbonation.

Smell/Aroma: 3 – Sweet malts, passionfruit, mango, pineapple. Denali hops were used.

Taste: 2.5 – Sweet maltyness accentuated by the big alcohol, the hops cover the alcohol well, but its obviously noticeable. Piney bitterness. Fruity. Almost cloying really, and a little hot.

Mouthfeel/Palate: 2.5 – Slick, resiny, not much noticeable carbonation. The alcohol and the hop merge well.

Overall: 2.5 – This is good, but its not really a sipping style, and you cant drink a nearly 10% beer too fast. Interesting hop style, would love to try it in a lighter beer. This is really getting into Barleywine territory,

http://www.blackbrewingco.com.au/