We Named This Beer X Æ A-XII
Evil Twin Brewing

Can into pint glass. Pours a murky orange-amber with a brief off-white head. Good lacing. Initial impression is juicy citrus, tropical fruits, lemon, floral notes and a bit of lime, nicely balanced by caramel. Mouthfeel is thick and sticky. Finish is fairly sweet, with a lot of juiciness and a bit of bitterness. Overall, an enjoyable DIPA, but a little on the sweet side for me.

 

 

 

 

It's really good but I am getting sick of how sweet hazy IPAs are becoming.

16oz can. Poured out a cloudy, golden orange color with a large, off-white head of bubbly foam. It left sudsy sheets of lace on the glass. It smelled of grapefruit, mango, orange, pineapple and toasted caramel. It had a strong tropical fruit taste with toasted caramel and a piney bitterness.

While the brainchild of Evil Twin has always been to develop beers with the juicy radiance of New England IPA and with the bitterness that doesn't completely alienate the fans of bitter beer, while straddling the fence of strong standard IPA or that of imperial status We Named This Beer X Æ A-12 is a familiar Evil Twin taste that's basically their baby.

So without any attempt to pronounce it, X Æ A-12 pours a turbid and pastel golden-orange before capping with a creamy eggshell froth. As the equal-parts scent of tropical, citrus and herbal intertwines into a fragrant and floral bouquet, the early taste is creamy, sweet and slightly toasty.

Yet as the cereal, pastry and honeysuckle flavors start to wear off, its the hops that spring to life with mango, apricot, orange, grapefruit, passionfruit, papaya and gooseberry. Trending malty-dry, the floral and fruit flavors start to turn bitter with a drying taste of spruce, juniper, fresh-cut grass, pepper and cedar all take the beer into a resinous late palate.

Medium full and with a greater sense of dryness and drinkability than is common for New England IPA, this more palatable taste is what separates Evil Twin from others in the hoppy game as this baby finishes spicy with gin and extends with a medium-long aftertaste of fruit rinds.