Killer Dana Double IPA
Pizza Port Solana Beach

Amber colored ipa. 1/2" white head. Aroma was underhopped compared to most Port offerings, but it still was enjoyable amounts of grass underneath a pine tree.

Taste was respectable bitterness, good amount of toastier pale malts in this one, crystal even. Hid the alcohol well enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A darker amber color for a dipa. Thin ring of head to it. Aroma wasn't over the top, mildly hoppy, not big time like many of Port's offerings.

Taste, thin sweetness, good bitterness, sizeable hopping, big malt bill to back it all up, loads of caramel. Hops presence isn't as big as in some of their single ipa's here. Almost spit out my beer when I was told this stuff was $24 for a growler fill (not a new growler filled, a used one). . .

Its a decent beer, but no way in hell I'd pay $24 for this when Humulus Lager is only $16 a growler, and a substantively better beer.

 

Pours a nice amber with sustaining head. Big malt and bigger hop aroma. Very fruity. Huge hop flavor profile followed by maltines. Big body, but easy drinking. Much less chewy than the Doheney Double IPA. Medium carbonation. My favorite Pizza Port San Clemente beer!

a - brown hazelnut and amber hues. nice finger frothy thick head and nice retention.

s - piney resiny. strong hops with a slight malt undertone. more grassy and green smelling than other double ipas.

t - bitter bitter hops with sort of a sweet carmely undertone similar to the smell but more established in the taste.

m - medium carbonation and body. based on the look and taste i would have assumed that it would have a fuller body but this one is pretty medium bodied making a little more handleable of an ipa.

o - although not as complex as others still very bold and refreshing. thoroughly enjoyable.

Reviewed from notes. This was one 4.5 oz. taster of a flight of four I sampled at PP San Clemente in late May, 2011.

Glowing orange nectar color. Beautiful! Very fragrant and skunky smell. It is light in body for an Imperial IPA, but that helps a bit with the very thick resinous nature of the hops. Floral and piney in a good way. The malt helps keep the IBUs in check during the primary and secondary flavors. The light body helps prevent the brew from over drying or shocking your palette on the linger.

I'm not getting a hint of citrus on this guy, which is OK. However, you sometimes don't realize what some of those balancing, fruitier flavors do to help keep more bitter varieties in check.

5/30/2011

On tap at Pizza Port San Clemente in a tulip.

A: Light amber with an impressive off white head. Lots of scattered lacing.

S: A blast of pine resin with orange pith, grapefruit rind, and only a little fruit flesh. Malt is faint and redolent of caramel. Lightly floral.

T: Resinous pine with a blend of grapefruit and orange flesh. The pith and rind components match the strength of the sweeter flesh notes. Bitterness is at an upper moderate level. Aggressive, though no harsh alcohol or astringent notes. The dry and bitter finish is clean, and resin lingers.

M: Lower medium in body with upper moderate carbonation. Mouthfeel is dry and sticky.

Overall: Another hoppy winner from the Pizza Port family. No surprise there. Now, I think I'll have a pint of Pseudo.

On-tap at Pizza Port San Clemente

A: A clear golden orange color with a thin white head and some spotty lacing.

S: Certainly more toward the fruity side of double IPAs. Sweet tropical fruits such as pineapple, with sweet citrus notes as well. A bit of caramel and a moderate bread note. Just a light pine character.

T: A very nice citrus flavor which is a bit more toward the sweet side. Grapefruit, pineapple, and orange make up the fruit notes. A touch of pine with a moderate bitterness to go with some sweet caramel.

M: The body is medium with a moderate level of carbonation.

D: Not quite as in your face with the hops as many of the style, but good flavors and easy to drink.

Had this on-tap at Pizza Port in San Clemente. Pours a bright orange colour with thick white head. Lacing is pretty much coating the glass. Not sure how a double IPA could look better than this really. Smells of piney hop, without too much of a malt balance. Bitterness isn't as high as some double IPA's, but it still packs a punch. I think if I wasn't in California the review for this could have scewed higher, but this wasn't near the top for the beers on this trip even though it was good.

On tap at Fat Heads. Served in a snifter.

Killer Dana is one of the Port beers I had at the Hop Harvest festival but my palate was shot by the later part of the day. So I was thrilled to see it back on tap again when I returned this past weekend. The beer looks nice in the snifter but is a unique color for a DIPA. It's an amber with ruby red notes around the edges and a deep splash of mahogany in the center. The beer is relatively cloudy and has little head but good retention and nice lace.

The hop bill for this is right up my alley, but it is just a bit unbalanced. The wild cattiness comes across first in a fit of kitty pee and green onions. Underneath that strong scent, there is some grapefruit and pine lingering. The smell is just really heavy and could use more bright notes like orange or mango. A touch of toasted malt underneath makes this one strange but powerful DIPA.

I do like the way this tastes, though. There's a ton of malt balancing things out with some caramel and toast notes. The hops are dank and wild, with more simcoe silliness and some citrus notes. A huge spike of bitterness gives way to sweet malt. Interesting and really well put together - the missing elements in the nose come through in the taste.

The mouthfeel is creamy with low carb and medium body, finishing in a dry feel with lingering bitterness. This is not the most drinkable due to the bitterness, but I enjoyed the taste for one snifter's worth.

A- golden hue, very clear medium amount of bubbles good white head retention.

S-strong of hops, I want to say cascade and Chinook, citrus, hints of grapefruit, bit of floral smell to it. Also has a hint of ester alcohol smell to it.

T- Taste is pretty opposite of the smell, I got a much more pine and floral taste to it. There is a significant malt profile that does a good job at balancing it.

M- the lower amount of carbonation makes taste a little more smoother, which is surprising. and it has a great after taste.

D- I think that this is a pretty drinkable double IPA so hats off to them, this would go great with some spicy Mexican food or pizza! But the high alcohol content might limit how many pints to buy, overall a very good example of a double IPA.