DIPA Underground
To Øl

 

 

 

 

To Øl, gypsy brewers from Denmark who I’ve (surprisingly) never reviewed a beer of before, come almost as highly regarded as my favourite Danish gypsy brewer: Mikkeller. So it has been a while for me to get to To Øl (who I’m going to pronounce as “to-ol” because I have no idea what that O with the slash through it is and I’m too not-Danish-enough to find out) however I’m finally there with one of my favourite brewery-introductory styles, the ever face-punching American Double IPA. How will they fare versus Mikkeller or my favourite DIPA (Victory DirtWolf)? Watch this space to find out... err, or read the review just below this line... yep, just a little bit further down... there you go.

Poured from a 500ml can into a Duvel tulip.

A: Caramel-tinged hazed amber body with a decent (for 8.5% ABV) half centimetre off-white head that sticks around for a while, leaving lace scrawl as it recedes. One of the more impressive DIPAs I’ve seen in a while, though just a touch on the brown side colour-wise. 9/10.

S: Hop resin to the fore with a real piney/cannabis that mingles with green mangoes - ahh, my old friend Mosaic! Underpinning this solid hop hit is a caramel/biscuit malt base. Overall this is a proper West Coast DIPA aroma - clean with a bold hop character and some caramel goodness to balance it all out. 8/10.

T: Intriguingly flavour comes through with East Coast sweetness and tropical flavours: Mango, papaya, hint of pineapple. Piney/earthy notes along with the caramel base are there, however this is a West Coast DIPA that has done a U-turn on US Route 20 in Oregon and headed back to New England as some sort of flippant statement (not that I’m complaining). Apart from the almost candy-truck sweetness there is almost a lack of any of that 8.5% ABV - most impressive. Bitterness is very mild given the style. The only thing holding this beer back is sugar: Too much. 7/10.

M: Medium bodied, bit cloying because of that aforementioned sugar, with a light carbonation. 7/10.

D: Well my first To Øl brew and I would put it in the “not-great but also not crap” pile. Compared to Mikkeller so far it beats Cream Ale (which I thought was as boring as a yacht race in a lake of solidified jelly). It’s just not different enough to warrant the $13/can price tag here in Oz, if it was cheaper it would be alright (though I don’t think my pancreas can handle more sugar). 8/10.

Food match: Chargrilled beef to cut through that sugar, with grilled vegetables.

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a tulip glass. Had an amber color and a clear texture. There was an inch of foamy head that lasted an average amount of time. Good lacing.

S: A nice aroma of hops, tropical fruit, malt, and an earthy quality.

T: Tasted of a lot of different tropical fruits (mango, melon), light pine notes, malt, the aforementioned earthy quality, a bunch of hops (wouldn't be a DIPA without them), and some citrus (tangerines). Not exactly a groundbreaking flavor, but tasty nonetheless. Quite vibrant.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a prickly finish. Medium-bodied.

O: For the most part this is a well done, likable beer. Drinkable.

 

Super dark amber colored body. Malts are definitely noticeable in taste and smell. The presence of Mosaic hops is obvious in taste. Has fruity tasting undertones make the beer very tasty.

Bottle. Hazy dark orange color with fluffy, beige head. Aroma has mostly sweet citrus notes like tangerines and ripe pink grapefruit. Taste follows with the sweet citrus, also some sweetness from the malts, slightly buttery but not in a bad way. Medium bitterness on the finish, lingers with bittersweet grapefruit. Medium body, feels quite smooth on the palate. Overall it's a quite nice, easy drinking DIPA for the 8.5% ABV.

Can BB 10/2017:
Pours a little dark - darker than burnt orange, almost brown. It is nicely clear with a decent head, though.

First whiff seems like stale pine. There is a grain note as well. The latter fades a little as some tropical notes come to my nose. They're subdued by the pine and earthy notes, though.

First taste has me thinking "stale" like the nose did. Once again, given a second chance, improvements are noticed. There is a toasted maltiness in the beer, and its presence adds a bit to the body of the beer - medium heavy to heavy. The hops start with an earthy bitterness. Much like the nose, tropical notes show up, but stay in the background. A light carbonation, with a little prickliness that surprisingly hits near the end after the pine has grown to be equal to the earthy bitterness.

More earthy than tropical, with pine coming out. One of a variety of common flavor profile for IPAs, but not one I enjoy as much as others.

I note that I was getting different proportions of hop notes than others. Wonder if there's a reason other than palate differences.

 

 

 

A: The beer is slightly hazy orange amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that died down, leaving a thin layer of bubbles on the surface and some lacing around the edges of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of citrusy hops and pine are present in the nose. Once the beer warms up, mango becomes apparent and stands out in the smell.
T: The taste has flavors of citrus, mango and piney hops along with notes of underlying malts and a moderate amount of bitterness. Some hints of alcohol are present in the finish.
M: It feels a bit more than medium-bodied on the palate and is crisp with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The taste of this beer has a good balance between the malts and hops and a nice complexity of flavors.

Serving type: can

Pours a clear copper, with a dense head.

The smell is juicy, tropical and sweet. Tons of melon and mango promises a lot...

The taste is very well balnced with a solid malt base. Huge melon moves into a sweet bitterness, with a bit of booze at the end.

The mouthfeel is rich and full, with ample carbonation.

Very good DIPA, that is just a hint too boozy on the finish to really become excellent.

 

 

16.9 oz. can

Pours hazy amber red-orange with a dense creamy light khaki colored foam head. Smells like ruby red grapefruit, orange citrus, dark berries, some mild toffee, dark caramel, brown sugar, roasty toasted malts, with funky floral earthy herbal grass and resinous pine. Tastes like ruby red grapefruit, orange citrus peel, dark berries, toffee, dark caramel, brown sugar, roasty toasted malt, with floral earthy herbal grass and resinous pine. Feels medium bodied, creamy and slick with moderate low carbonation. Overall a really nice DIPA.

Pours a lot darker than the traditional New England IPAs that I've gotten used to. A bunch of Mosaic but some other hops that I haven't tried before (or at least I don't think so). Goes down very smooth.