2X India Brown
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Coffee bean brown with a sliver of gold along the bottom edge. The toasted almond cap was sponge-like and was less than one finger in height. Pretty typical for a bar pour. Fat rings of lace marched most of the way down the glass.

I was told on the telephone that the beer's name is Double Hopped India Ale, only to find the name seen above on the chalkboard beside the bar. Obviously, 2X means two times the hops. The beer did smell like a slightly hoppier than usual brown ale, although it wasn't hugely impressive. Interestingly enough, quite a bit of coffee was evident.

The bottom half of the pint was more delicious than the top half... and the top half was no slouch. Even though I've experienced it countless times, I'm still amazed at the depth of flavor that emerges as well-crafted beer approaches room temperature. That said, the 4.0 for taste might not have been granted without all the hops. It would have been close.

Each mouthful delivered dark caramel, roasted coffee beans with a light char, chocolate and a modest amount of spiced grapefruit. There was good balance overall, although flavors provided by malt dominated flavors provided by hops (Chinook, Cascade, Mt. Hood and Willamette). The finish was tight without being bitingly hoppy.

The mouthfeel *almost* received a score bump. In the end, though, it was a little light and never quite made it to lightly creamy. The initially (slightly) sharp carbonation was right on the money by the final swallow.

2X India Brown is yet another solid offering from the West Des Moines Rock Bottom. The extra hops were the key and were greatly appreciated. This was a pretty tasty pint solo and would probably have been just as good alongside most of the brewpub's appetizers and entrees.