Hercules Double IPA
Live review. Poured from the 12 oz. bottle that I bought as a single at Save-On in Mentor a few days ago for $3.50 into my gold rimmed Ommegang goblet. Bottled on April 11 1011 stamped on the lower right side of the label. This is almost 5 months old. I am sure it is not the best of circumstances but lets see what we have here. A Very light brown head over a golden orange body that has visible sediment floating about after I poured it. The head dissapeared within 60 seconds for this one (as compared to the recently reviewed Titan IPA) but I would expect that with the elevated 10% ABV. Really a good look. I enjoy the inclusion of the visible sediment. 4.5 S Sweet malt with some bitter hops and a warmth of alcohol. This is a really good smell within the style and it is not repeated by all DIPAs. The smell leaves me very interested in tasting this beer! 4.5 T Oh yes.I love a good DIPA that has plenty of sweet malt as a part of it! As the smell suggested, there is plenty of syrupy sweetness along with a strong hop presence and a nice, appropriate burn of alcohol. It is not to the level of my most favored DIPAs which are Southern Tiers 2XIPA and Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster. I really enjoy the taste of this one, none the less, and it has held up for the almost 5 months since it was bottled! 4.0 M This is one big beer with a big mouthfeel from the syrupy sweetness to the bold bitterness and even that burn of alcohol that I already mentioned. A big, huge feel which is what I look for in this style. 4.5 D/O This is not particularly drinkable with all of its bigness and elevated ABV but I did enjoy it none the less. Overall it is a very good DIPA. 3.5