IPA, 7% ABV
This bottle was purchased at Alpine itself (really growing to love that place) four days ago, so it's lovely and wonderfully fresh. I've gotta love Alpine for not shying away from big earthy hop character, so having one of their fantastic IPAs fresh is a real treat. It's called Duet because of the "simcoe and amarillo hops in harmony."
Appearance: It's a really perfect butterscotch honey color. As you can see, it's perfectly clear, and it pours a small one-finger's worth of head; however, the head retention is really great and stayed throughout the whole time I drank from the glass.
Smell: Immediate aromas are tropical fruit and spicy grass.
Taste: The first taste to hit the tongue is the spicy freshness of the hops. I then get mango and pineapple, and it's the fruit character that contributes most of the apparent sweetness, not any huge malt background (yay from me!) As the beer warmed up, a bite from the alcohol at the end became more apparent, which is a bit surprising from a 7% IPA, but it wasn't unpleasant.
Mouthfeel: The body is nice -- full and thick, with moderate carbonation that plays nicely with the bitterness to lighten up the overall effect. It's very bright, clean, and refreshing, without being dry.
Overall: This isn't a particularly "unique" IPA, but it doesn't have to be. It's a great representation of the style, and I'd highly recommend it to fellow hopheads. I love the mixture of tropical fruit and earthy grass/pine in both the smell and the taste (something that the ineffable Pliny the Elder brings to the table) and would happily bring this into regular rotation, if such a thing existed any longer -- "regular rotation" is a relic of a time when I wasn't trying to pretentiously blog every new beer I try. But enough about me -- try "Duet." I think I still prefer Pure Hoppiness, but I'd have to do a side-by-side to elaborate why. I may have just thrown a bunch of unintended shade, but really, this is an awesome beer.
5/5
This bottle was purchased at Alpine itself (really growing to love that place) four days ago, so it's lovely and wonderfully fresh. I've gotta love Alpine for not shying away from big earthy hop character, so having one of their fantastic IPAs fresh is a real treat. It's called Duet because of the "simcoe and amarillo hops in harmony."
Appearance: It's a really perfect butterscotch honey color. As you can see, it's perfectly clear, and it pours a small one-finger's worth of head; however, the head retention is really great and stayed throughout the whole time I drank from the glass.
Smell: Immediate aromas are tropical fruit and spicy grass.
Taste: The first taste to hit the tongue is the spicy freshness of the hops. I then get mango and pineapple, and it's the fruit character that contributes most of the apparent sweetness, not any huge malt background (yay from me!) As the beer warmed up, a bite from the alcohol at the end became more apparent, which is a bit surprising from a 7% IPA, but it wasn't unpleasant.
Mouthfeel: The body is nice -- full and thick, with moderate carbonation that plays nicely with the bitterness to lighten up the overall effect. It's very bright, clean, and refreshing, without being dry.
Overall: This isn't a particularly "unique" IPA, but it doesn't have to be. It's a great representation of the style, and I'd highly recommend it to fellow hopheads. I love the mixture of tropical fruit and earthy grass/pine in both the smell and the taste (something that the ineffable Pliny the Elder brings to the table) and would happily bring this into regular rotation, if such a thing existed any longer -- "regular rotation" is a relic of a time when I wasn't trying to pretentiously blog every new beer I try. But enough about me -- try "Duet." I think I still prefer Pure Hoppiness, but I'd have to do a side-by-side to elaborate why. I may have just thrown a bunch of unintended shade, but really, this is an awesome beer.
5/5
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