Two regular dudes who happen to be huge fans of American craft beer.
By scot in Home Brewing on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
The second beer in the Alpha Acid Aspirations is ready for review: Chunk. Of course I have tasted the beer a half dozen times before brewing. I feel that it is best at this point, as it seems to be peaking.
Look: Pours cloudy (more like opaque) with a couple of fingers of tightly packed, small bubbled, off-white foam that has some quality staying powers. The top stiffens as it recedes, leaving sporadic bits in its’ wake. The beer is a deep amber color.
Aroma: A light malty backbone comes through from behind a shroud of hops. The hops are full of topical and citrus fruit aromas, some floral notes as well.
Taste: Lots of hops in the taste. More tropical and citrus hop flavor tap a tune. Malt is more than a usual for a DIPA. I like the “difference” that is normally not there in a DIPA. The finish is full of hop flavor and bitterness. Bitterness is actually complex: clean (Warrior), rough (Chinook) and some grapefruit (Cascade(?)).
Drinkability: Fuller body than a normal DIPA (seemingly 151*F mash temperature added enough difference to bring up the body). There is a stiff bitterness that doesn’t have much carbonation to hide behind, causing the bitterness to kill the palate.
Overall: Even though this is a DIPA, there isn’t much hiding from the bitterness. The Maris Otter does seem to give a bit more malt base but I don’t think it is enough for the price difference with 2-row. I would brew this beer again but would definitely tone down the bitterness, maybe even remove the Chinook.
This isn’t a beer for anyone who does’t like loads of hop bitterness. I will brew it again but only occasionally. Enjoy!
Useless Fact: Certain frogs can be frozen solid, then thawed, and survive.