The Devil Within DIPA by Iron Fire

June 4, 2014 by cloudx30 tagged Double Imperial Pale Ale, Double IPA, dragon fruit, IPA, Iron Fire, passion fruit, stone fruit, stone fruit flavors, The Devil Within DIPA, tropical fruits | Leave a comment

Rating: 5/5

The Devil Within DIPA by Iron Fire is a 9.5% ABV Double India Pale Ale.

Label:
ALES FOR OUTLAWS
Upon first quaff, Devilish amounts of hops assault you with citrus and stone fruit flavors and aroma. Add in just the right amount of malt to bring this beast of a DIPA to 9.5% alcohol by volume and what you get is an ale that is sure to bring out the demon in any outlaw. Be sure to call your exorcist before imbibing, for the devil within will soon become the devil without.
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My friend Aaron told me about picking this beer up for a beer trade. I got him one but I figured, what the hell, I will give it a try to see watsup too so I got an extra bottle. This beer is pretty new and it seems to be holding its own among some of the great IPA and DIPAs in the world. Let’s see just how much this bad ass of a beer really is.

Aromas:
Lots of tropical fruits, mango, papaya, pineapple, dragon fruit, kiwi, passion fruit, prickly pear, tangerine, oranges, grassy, piney and grapefruit hops, honey dew melon, caramel, biscuit bread, stone fruit like apricot, peaches, lychee, tangerine marmalade, lemon zest, floral notes and toffee.

Flavors:
Definitely a rush of tropics, mango, papaya, pineapple, stone fruit lychees, apricot, plum notes, peach, dragon fruit, kiwis, prickly pear, caramel, toffee, biscuit bread, gummy bears, tangerine marmalade, oranges, honey dew melon, cantaloupe and guava.

Aftertaste:
Hoppy Bitterness in the finish with lots of tropical fruits lingering, caramel, grapefruit, honey dew melon and biscuit bread. No alcohol in the taste, a medium to sipping beer. It is very refreshing and crisp with a medium mouthfeel.

Overall:
A perfect IPA with the best representation of it’s style. Pin pointing a difference from other delicious IPAs is a difficult task but since I like tropical IPAs, just expect this one to be more tropical than grassy, malty or dank like some other IPAs go. So definitely highly recommended if tropical IPAs. This one is great!

Anime Corner:
Original character from Yone Kazuki, Dark Summoner by Masamune Shirow, and original character from Himoto Onoki were used in this pairing to pair with the label showing the skeleton and the devil . Mainly showing the devil within as how even as you have good in you you also have the other half which can do evil. So this beer aspires to unleash holy hell and a demon within but for me, this bitter sweet collision is one that is mainly one of balance. A lot of sweet tropical aspects along with bitter hoppy finish.

Source:
http://konachan.com/post/show/149656
http://www.a-tm.co.jp/news/service/2013/05/01dark_gw.html
http://www.zerochan.net/570333

RuinTen a.k.a Ruination Tenth Anniversary (re-release) by Stone Brewing

June 20, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged DIPA, Double Imperial Pale Ale, Double India Pale Ale, food, hop, hop aroma, hop bitterness, hop flavors, Hop Heads, Hop Monster, Hopmaterasu, Hoppy, Hoppy beer, Hops, IIPA, india pale ale, IPA, Ruination tenth, RuinTen, Stone, Stone Brewing, stone brewing co, Stone Ruination, Stone Ruination IPA | Leave a comment

Rating: 5.25/5 *A triumphant fresh return to the golden standard.

RuinTen a.k.a Ruination Tenth Anniversary (re-release) by Stone Brewing is 10.8% ABV 110 IBU World Class Double India Pale Ale

Label:
Back in 2002, we first released out notoriously mega-hopped Double IPA, Stone Ruination PA, and in 2012 we celebrated its 10th anniversary with the release of a very special version that was even bigger and incredibly, even hoppier than the original. If Stone Ruination IPA is “A Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop,” then Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA was a “Stage dive into a mosh pit of hops.” Luckily for us, our fans love loud and aggressive brews, specifically when copious amounts of humulus lupulus are involved. The original release of this beer was so instantly beloved by those who dared try it [particularly us] that there was no way we could relegate in one-hit-wonder status. You are holding in your hands a veritable hop monster. We dropped the word “Tenth” but the decidedly indelicate recipe is the same as the one first unleashed in 2012. This belligerently delicious ale has the substantial malt backbone needed to stand up to the whopping five pounds of hops packed into each barrel. If all the hyperbole hasn’t frightened you away by now, we know you’ll love this audacious gem of hoppy splendor just as much as we do. Crank it up!
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The IPA Gold standard is back with a vengeance. One release was not awesome enough. The second is enough to cause havoc with irreparable damage to the palette and I am sure you will love it. AS I remember correctly from last years beer, this not only was so bitter that it lingered, it actually started burning. Maybe not like a chile heat, but like a real hop plant bitter trip to Hell.

Aromas are just like I remember, a lot of hoppy aromas ranging from grassy, pine needles, grapefruit, herbal, dank, hop oil, tropics to the brim like mango, pineapple, papaya, passion fruit, dragon fruit, citrus, lemon peel, oranges, tangerines and peaches. The flavor are in your face bitter with straight burning hop character, pine needles, dank hop oils, grapefruit, lemon grass, herbs and slight floral notes, some nice biscuit and caramel along with the in between tropics of the citrus, tangerine, peach, mango, pineapple, passion fruit, dragon fruit, kiwis, papaya, lychees and some nice peppery notes. The After taste just lingers in Hopmaterasu ([Unquenshable Black Flames]Naruto reference) burning to the untrained palette. However, if you are willing to continue drinking, on top of those green hellish flames will lie some nice tropical residue to keep you from fading into the oblivion (Leave that part to the alcohol ). Very nice thing those hops do , ain’t that sweet of them. This beer is awesome. It is so awesome that I think it makes it the prime reason why they may only be able to release it one more time. Maybe even release it every year if not. I think that if they were to release it as a yearly, it may or may not detract from the original Ruination. However, it if they did do that, it would be nice to have a variety or Ruination to choose from. You know, Hard mode versus Expert mode sort of thing. Get this beer while you still can. Stop Reading this and go buy this beer before it is gone. As for the Brewery–exclusive-Camp-out-all-night-Black-Friday-style-for-only-enjoy-3-pints-Pliny-the-Younger…. eat it!!!!!!

Still need more convincing about the greatness of this beer? Read my past review

2012 Original Review:
https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/stone-ruination-tenth-anniversary-ipa/

Knuckle Sandwich by Bootleggers

June 10, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged banana notes, beer pairings, best beers in the world, Bootlegger's, Bootlegger’s Brewery, DBZ, Double Imperial Pale Ale, Double IPA, Dragonball Z, Echidna, Goku, honey dew melon, honey flavor, IIPA, Imperial IPA, india pale ale, IPA, Knuckle Sandwich, Knuckles, Koriand'r, pineapple mango, Ranma, Ruby, Ruby The Echidna, Sonic The Hedgehog, Star Fire, world class beers | Leave a comment

Rating: 5/5

Knuckle Sandwich by Bootleggers is a 10%ABV World Class Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Label:
This is a beer that truly lives up to its name! Brewed with copious amounts of North American hops, this Double IPA has a colossal hop profile and an aggressive aroma. Helping round out the floral and citrus notes is a huge malt backbone that provides a great mouth feel to this heavyweight hitter.
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First had this at King’ Row Gastropub in Pasadena California. Back then I wasn’t aware how great and very sought after this beer was. It is brewed locally here in Fullerton California but even the demand for this beer is insane. By the time I wanted a bottle to review, it was sold out pretty much everywhere. I went to the local liquor store in the street where I grew up since I knew back then they had some nice beers but had not been back there since 2011. To my surprise, there it was, the Elusive Knuckle Sandwich. Even so, there was not many left and I am sure they would be gone soon enough. Didn’t hesitate to get this one to be able to do a good review and bring this one forth in another one of my Art and Beer pairings.

Aromas are very tropical and grassy. Grassy, piney, citrus, floral and grapefruit hops, pineapple, mango, papaya, kumquats, lychees, peaches, guavas, dragon fruit, melon, a scent of plum, orange, lemon, biscuit bread, caramel, pepper notes and mint.

The Flavors are of Caramel, sweet bread, vanilla, rich grassy, herbal, piney and chewy hops, followed by very nice tropics of oranges, pineapple, mango, plum notes, cherry notes, papaya, kumquats, lychees, peaches, dragon fruit, apricots, guavas, very mild banana notes and honey dew melon. The aftertaste lingers with a lot of tropics and herbal hops. The alcohol is somewhat hidden does not detract from the beer’s flavor. In fact, it adds like a honey flavor as well. It is quite balanced for sure.

This beer is essentially what hop head dreams are made it. This beer does not disappoint and it is as awesome as the last time I remember it even though I had it fresher back in March. It a fist full of awesome IPA goodness. Dare I call this one, Heady Topper the 2nd? Yes, I just did. The balance is phenomenal and if you are mainly into more tropical IPAs, then this one is to try. I myself love Tropical IPAs as well as Super hop bitter ones as well. This would be in my top list of awesome Double IPAs along with Ruination, Pliny the Elder, Double Jack, Hop Stoopid, Hangar 24’s Double IPA and others I have reviewed so far. A great example in great west coast double IPAs

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Ruby created by DawnBest http://dawnbest.deviantart.com/art/The-Many-Forms-of-Ruby-the-Echidna-345683691