La Tremenda

DIPA from this interesting ’new’ Spanish craft brewer, bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck (I think...). Fairly thick, irregularly shaped, pale, greyish beige had leaving some ’dots’ of lacing and gradually breaking apart in the middle, over an initially clear, quite vividly sparkling warm orange blonde beer with golden hue, but much more orange than gold. Strong, delicate bouquet delivers the expectations surrounding this style: freshly squeezed orange juice, lime in all its facets, pink grapefruit flesh, biscuit, lightly toasted bread, dried mango, cherry tomatoes, freshly cut courgettes, minerals, moist marihuana, bitter honey, sweet red curry spicing, calvados, olive oil, exotic orchids, fresh croissants in Paris on a Sunday morning (forgive me for becoming all too lyrical), tangerine, fresh wormwood leaves, chicken stock, gin. Lively but clean, fruity and crisp onset, lots of mango, lychee and even some guava, hints of pineapple and peach underneath, sweet with a softly souring edge as can be expected, softly carbonated with an oily, filling, slightly soapy mouthfeel, hint of green olive umami somewhere. Continues with a full, generous malt middle, very biscuity and ’New World’-like with a (further) sweetening caramelly edge, pressurized by an increasing amount of fragrant, lush hoppiness, providing the sought after bitterness way below, spicy and resiny but not overly harsh, and a wealth of exotic aromas on top, mango, grapefruit and a touch of pine resin, lifting up the finish to a grand finale of New World hops in optimal condition beautifully paired with juicy ’biscuitiness’, while the alcohol, though unmistakable, tasting a tad calvados-like and warming up the chest, remains firmly in place. Something sticky, subtly so, remains - as in generic olive oil. Beautiful DIPA - or indeed IIPA, considering its vinous, liqueurish character - with a fresh, extremely fragrant nose, this is precisely how it has to be done in my book. A tad less ’dank’ and complex than their Ay, Carmela, which was a masterpiece, but just in being a little bit less expressive, maybe this is even better... Surely two different personalities and I have no idea which one to prefer over the other. I can only say that this fits all the requirements of a top notch DIPA and I look forward to taste more from this Catalonian craft brewery. ¡Salud!