Ahhhh, Wednesday. I've been talking beer all day because I recently started working at my local homebrew supply store. And today, when one of the pioneers of the craft beer scene in Columbus walked into the store, I almost gushed with fangirl-esque excitement. I don't get overly excited when I meet celebrities, but brewers, on the other hand, I tend to clam up and think of them as rock stars to my liver. Hooray for beer! Let's drink some!
Tonight we are drinking Dark Horse's Double Crooked Tree. It's a double IPA from our friends in Marshall, Michigan. Sure, they got famous with their show on the History channel, "Dark Horse Nation". Congratulations, guys, you worked hard for it and make great beer. I can't wait to see the second half of the season. They recently changed their Double Crooked Tree so that they could distribute to Ohio (I can only assume), because it changed from 13.5% ABV to 12%, which is the current cap in Ohio. Other than that, it is the same recipe as Crooked Tree, only with double the malts and hops. It is released once a year, in February. As you look at the calendar and realize that it is now October, I'm sure many of you are screaming "heresy!" at your monitor right now. I was a tad worried when I sat down to review this, but at 12%, it's going to hold up just fine. Even Dark Horse says so.
This pours a deep amber color with some chill haze and a small collar of off-white head. The aroma is tantalizing: deep caramel, soft citrus, a hint of pine, and a whole lot of booziness assault the nose. Yes, some of the hops have died off as I take a sip, but it's still really rather enjoyable, better than most DIPAs past their hop peak. There are brighter citrus, some grapefruit, and a touch of earthiness that complement the notes from the aroma. And then, wham! The boozy back side lashes your tongue. This DIPA is a beast! A flavorful, delicious beast. This is the kind of beer that can make you go from 0 to 60 in no time flat. It is moderately carbonated and not nearly as sticky as I would expect.
Come February, do yourself a favor and pick up a couple of bottles. One for drinking right away, and one (or more) for aging.
4.6/5 caps
-Jennie
As my partner mentioned, we're in Columbus, Ohio, so is the artist who does the artwork for Dark Horse. W. Ralph Walters does amazing work, you should check his stuff out. He also did the artwork on a local building here, Actual Roastery (which is associated with our friends at Actual Brewing).
With a little shout out to a fantastic artist, I raise this and gaze upon the gorgeous dark amber with faint layer of off-white head. The aroma is caramel heavy with hints of spice and pine at this point (this has been breathing for nearly 2 hours between Jennie's portion, chilling with our awesome neighbor and watching "Franklin and Bash"). The first sip of this is caramel and boozy, with some faint citrus and pine that grows with each second. The second sip gives off more of the hoppy notes, transferring the boozy notes to the back end. The third is just like the second. So, this is roughly 8 months old. Still great. Big malty backbone with the nice hops to give perfect harmony. Short and sweet, sort of like this pour was, as we shared the last 12 ounce bottle of the 4 pack we purchased, the previous 3 were enjoyed day of purchase by Jennie, her dad Phil, and myself. Speaking of Phil, I feel for Aaron from Dark Horse. He recently lost his father and sister-in-law. We've had a number of losses this year: good friends, mentors and Jennie's father. 2014 can suck it...
4.7/5 caps
-Nathan-
Food pairing: A good gyro from a family ran shop
Cheese pairing: Feta (goes great with gyros)
Music pairing: "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by A.C. (vulgar band name, great noise metal cover)
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