Empire Strikes Back
Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom

 

From notes, on tap at the brewery.

Cloudy copper, modest white head leaves thick lacing. Not especially active.

Mellow malty/grainy with earthy and grassy hops. Balanced.

Balanced and to style, so that will turn off some American IPA fans (typically me). But I enjoyed the sweet grainy and modestly hoppy flavor. Bitterness was mellow, but it all blended delightfully.

Low carbonation, medium body, clean finish.

Very tasty and easy drinking. I'm not usually a big fan of English style IPA's, but this one is really nice and exceptionally easy drinking.

Poured a nice orange color with good carbonation and a small white head. Nose is very similar to a traditional pils. Lots of grains, less hops. Taste is a english malt presence up front, subtle hip bitterness on the end. Not to much else going on here. Mouthfeel is a tad sweet, little booze and little hops. Not a beer to get amped up about for sure.

I had this on tap at the Double Mountain pub in Hood River.

A= This ale poured a slightly hazed golden/orange color with a snow white 1/2" head. The head settled to a skim and left just a few streaks of lace down my glass.

S= Smelled of malty sweetness, nuttiness, goldings hops, and a hint of toasted grain.

T= Sort of disappointing really. Started off with the promise of rich malt but the sweetness was overwhelmed by the toasted nutty flavors and not in a good way. The hops were what they should be, spicy, earthy, and only lightly bitter. Full of classic Goldings and Fuggles flavor. Finished sort of blah with a bit of dryness.

MF= Medium bodied with a soft carbonation feel that worked well for the style.

D= Not a bad beer by any stretch but also not the best example of an English IPA. As an "experimental beer" I think they need to tweak the recipe some and tone down that toasted nutty flavor a bit. Still, it would be easy enough to session a few of these.