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As I mentioned when I had the Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA, my friend Travis brought me a six pack of big beers from his vacation to Virginia Beach. Huge thanks to him for these brews. Tonight I went to the gym, and decided to reward myself with this big double IPA.
Location: Poured into a slightly curved pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 9% ABV, ~ 290 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s a dull reddish-brown color that’s very hazy and has a bunch of sediment in it. The head fell quickly, leaving a small ring of tiny bubbles around the edge of the glass. The aroma is citrusy and earthy hoppiness.
Taste & Feel: The body is full and the mouthfeel is crisp from the hops. The flavor up front is like a sweet hop juice with hints of caramel malt. In the middle, it gets citrusy quickly, turning to a citrusy-earthy bitterness in the finish. It’s mostly citrusy bitter in the finish with a bit of the sweetness coming back in.
Food Pairing: This needs something big to stand up to the hoppy citrus bitterness. I’d probably go with something solid and rich, like a shepard’s pie or a hearty pot pie, as it should stand up to the bold beer, and the saltiness would help cut down the sweetness a bit.
Overall Impression: I enjoy Simcoe hops, so I was looking forward to it, but the murky appearance (with a fair amount of sediment floating in it), made me a bit nervous. I was surprised at how sweet it was up front, but the sweetness and the lack of carbonation really made it taste like a hop flavored juice. The hop flavors and bittereness was good, but it was a bit extreme both in sweetness and bitterness. It seemed to bounce to the extremes on both fronts. It wasn’t a bad beer, and I’m sure hopheads will enjoy it, but for me, it swayed a bit too much to the extremes.
My Rating: 
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