Double Dog

A hazed reddish amber ale with a thin off white head. In aroma, a nice mix of c-hops and fruity esters, citrus, sweet nectarines. In mouth, an oily toasted sweet malt, with touches of vanilla, loads of fragrant hops, pink grapefruits, with a sweet finale. Medium to rich bodied.

Bottle. Poured a hazy coppery brown with a decent off-white head. Lovely aroma that started off fruity (oranges) and flowery, but as the beer warmed up shifted to caramel. Very unusual palate - full bodied and creamy with very fine carbonation. The flavour has a lot going on - dare I say, perhaps a bit too much! It has quite a refreshing start which then develops into plenty of bitterness (but not over the top as I was expecting). The finish is long and bitter with a nice sweet balance to it. Overall it is unusual and well worth trying. In richness, strength and texture it reminded me somewhat of a strong Belgian beer - but very well hopped.

Brown bottle, 355 ml, via Luc Bourbonnière (merci!), savoured on October 12 2010; eye: caramel with an orange hue, hazy, no effervescence, tiny ring of beige head, light lacing; nose: resinous hops, caramel, malt, grapefruit, orange; mouth: resinous hops, malt, orange, caramel, grapefruit, alcohol, finale in resinous hops with presence of alcohol, medium-full body, good carbonation, rather bitter, nice astringency; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 355 ml, via Luc Bourbonnière (merci!), savourée le 12 octobre 2010; œil : caramel avec une teinte orangé, trouble, pas d’effervescence, petit anneau de mousse beige, légère dentelle; nez : houblon résineux, caramel, malt, pamplemousse, orange, bouche : houblon résineux, malt, orange, caramel, pamplemousse, alcool, finale en houblon résineux avec présence d’alcool, corps moyen-corsé, bonne carbonatation, plutôt amère, bonne astringence; en résumé : bien aimé

bottle pours deep gold with a medium off white head. Aroma is full of hops, citrus, pine, dank. Flavor is mildly sweet biscuit and toasted malt ending with a severely hot and overwhelming hop bite. I like hoppy beers but this stuff was unpleasant.

From a 355ml bottle on 30/8/2010. Not surprisingly, this is a massive beer. The aroma is of dark fruits (raisins and plums), spice and caramel. The texture is thick and creamy. It exhibits extremes of sweetness and bitterness, the former is mainly caramel and toffee, with some more dark fruit and honey, followed by hops which never seem to end. Not a beer that you can down quickly, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be craving a second straight away, but it’s an impressive, singular brew which every hop monster should try.

355ml bottle from Alko. Poured hazy, copper color, with a modest bubbly white head. Sticky hoppy aroma, bit alcohol. Flavor is complex, hoppy, raisin and plums. Very bitter. Dry very bitter finish. Slight alcohol burning, or should I say warming. Took me almost an hour to finish the bottle, but sure was worth it.

Tap. Just cloudy amber. Thick light beige head. Smells candy sweet with pears and apricots. Quite a lot of citrus and pine, but hops don’t dominate the aroma. Very obvious alcohol. Big caramel sweetness is rapidly swamped by pine and citrus. Touches of ginger and and alcohol burn. Complex and fairly harmonious, but the sweetness and alcohol stand out a bit much. Massively bitter finish.