One In The Chamber
Payette Brewing

i believe this latest batch is 9.7% abv, at least thats what i think my foggy memory recalls from the draft board yesterday, this really got me pretty sloshed, i think it hides its alcohol really well, and has a lot of nutty grain depth to it without being heavy, so its balanced and even kind of approachable for a big ipa, proceed with caution here. clear light amber color to it, very short head from the tap, even looks a little flat, but there is enough carbonation on the palate. aroma here is toasted and cooked, sweet grain against citrusy hops, not as aggressive as a lot of these are, less piney and woodsy and northwestern on the hops too, almost drinks like an imperial pale ale, as bitterness if fairly restrained for the style too. light almond character, toffee, baked bread, and a clean ferment. the flavor of the hops leans a little orange forward to me, almost orange cake with the grain, a little honey sweetness from the malt meeting a sticky resinous hop texture on the tongue, hints of grapefruit, grilled lemon, and wet grass. its simple in a lot of ways, nicely balanced if you like them a little malty, and not as alcoholic as it seems like it will be at this strength. a little old school, but pleasant and not offensive for being so strong. kicked my butt a little bit, but i enjoyed it, surprised to see it rated so poorly, this recent batch must be an improvement.

 

On tap at Brewery. Decent double. but lacking some of the "in your face" hops of the NW. Smooth velvety caramel and mellow hops, higher ABV evident, but not too bitter.

Enjoyed a tulip tonight at the taproom for about $5... Clear orange brew with a short lived 1 finger white head... Piney hops and some lesser pithy citrus combine with a balanced (perhaps too balanced) pale malt/light toastiness to produce a good drinkable DIPA.. Not exactly sweet, but the maltiness isn't balanced enough IMO by big PNW hoppiness or bitterness.

Not a bad beer by any stretch, but I expect more hops and more of a distinctive and proud hop profile in my DIPA's.

3.75/3.5/3.5/3.75/3.5

 

 

Looks like this is Payette's first attempt at a DIPA, so hopefully they can tweak their recipe a bit and come up with a better result.

While the beer looks fine (copper color with decent head retention and lacing), that was as good as things got with this beer. The beer smells sweet and malty, and it was nearly syrupy sweet on the palate. While there's some decent bitterness on the finish, ultimately, this beer was just way too sweet and malty for me. Alcohol was pretty noticeable as well, which is typical in IPA's and DIPA's that are this sweet.

Would not order this beer again and was very glad I only ordered a taster size glass at the Bier Stein.