17th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA
Picked up on the recommedation of a friend. Pours a dark amber with a nice tight head that fades slowly and leaves some lacing. Aroma has the expected pine and citrus combined with caramel malt and vanilla oak to make a pleasant complexity. Hop aroma is not as aggressive as many in the style. Taste has oak up front and firm bitterness over sweet malt. The vanilla from the oak adds to the perception of sweetness, pushing this a bit out of the DIPA category IMO. Mouthfeel is rich and thick, this is a slow sipper. Again I'd say too thick and chewy for the category. Mouthfeel reminds me of a stock ale more than a DIPA. Very smooth though, I do like it a lot. Overall a very enjoyable beer, but probably better classified as an American strong ale rather than a DIPA.