Beer: Stoudt's Double IPA
Brewery Location: Adamstown, PA
Beer Style: Double IPA
Serving Style: Bottle
ABV: 10%
Spring is pretty much upon us and I am starting to get the itch for pale ales, IPA's, and double IPA's. I got this bottle in a trade a few weeks ago. I've never had or heard of any beers from Stoudt before, so this is my very first offering from them. I don't know much about Stoudt's other than they are from Pennsylvania, and their beers are available in Michigan and Ohio but nothing in Indiana.
This pours a bright and hazy orange color with two fingers of off-white head. The beer left minimal lacing on the walls of my pint glass. The nose presents itself while I pour this beer and I get the smell of overwhelming citrus fruit. As the beer settled a bit I get more bready malt coming through, but I was about half-way done with my beer before I got that. The flavor profile at first sip starts out with a clean citrus hop bite, but the very sweet malt comes into play very quickly and drowns out the hops in the flavor profile. The sweetness is a mixture of honey and caramel. The sweetness if very cloying to me. The mouthfeel is actually really nice and smooth with medium carbonation with a medium body. The drinkability wasn't really there for me in this beer. The sweetness would keep me away from it.
This beer had two good things going for it: esthetically it looks great, and the mouthfeel is really well done for a DIPA. I did not enjoy the cloying sweetness on this beer though. I like my DIPA's a little more bitter than this. Personally, this was a bit of a miss for me.
Cheers!
Matt