Evil Cousin | Heretic Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Heretic Brewing Company
California, United States
hereticbrewing.com
Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 8.00%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by billshmeinke on 09-09-2011
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 515 | Reviews: 121
Reviews by flannelman808:
More User Reviews:
4.81/5 rDev +22.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
The preponderance of beer in CANs is/has been spiraling out of CANtrol! I am leading The CANQuest (tm) & I CAN't keep up! I am ecstatic that they have begun CANning this one & Evil Twin & I was happy to pick up one of each recently at The Fridge.
From the CAN: "Drink with me Cousin, as Hades comes with the dawn. - Acacius"; "Always brewed and packaged only by Heretic Brewing Co. - Fairfield, CA"; "Almost everybody has their favorite cousin. Ours is a resiny citrus and pine joy with an easy drinking malt character. We love hanging out with our cousin at the beach, camping, hiking and every holiday party. Why not welcome our cousin to your next family gathering?"; "Don't follow the crowd. Be a Heretic and drink responsibly."
More broken record action. One of my first Cousins is Colby Chandler of Ballast Point, my late Pops' late-brother's son. It was at a family gathering in early-Spring 2002 that I got to taste Sculpin in beta. Now, the question is: Am I his Evil Cousin, vice versa, or are we both Evil Cousins?
The Crack! was evil in its intensity, so I was gentle in my Glug so as to keep things on an Even Keel (sorry, different beer, different brewery. I wonder what made me think of that ...). It's a Cousin thing, yinz wouldn't understand. Once decanted, an in-glass swirl raised a finger of foamy, fizzy, tawny head with moderate retention. Color was a gorgeous Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5) with NE-quality clarity, prompting the Gelt Gang of Midas, Croesus & Mammon to come in from the living room, where they were watching playov hockey on tellly, for a taste. Nose smelled like I was chopping down a pine tree for my living room, or better yet, since it is spring, running the spent trees through a chopper for mulch. Whee! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, big for the style. The taste was initially cool and minty, like a Calm Before the Storm. Suddenly, the the grapefruit citrus & fusel alcohol began to assert themselves & my poor, bruised tongue cringed in abject terror. This was an Evil beer and I felt ready to Abandon Ship. Fortunately, it passed and I found myself back on an Even Keel. Finish was dry, but minty, and I actually felt fresher for having sucked it down than I did before I started. Summer cooler, here it comes!
2,258 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
The preponderance of beer in CANs is/has been spiraling out of CANtrol! I am leading The CANQuest (tm) & I CAN't keep up! I am ecstatic that they have begun CANning this one & Evil Twin & I was happy to pick up one of each recently at The Fridge.
From the CAN: "Drink with me Cousin, as Hades comes with the dawn. - Acacius"; "Always brewed and packaged only by Heretic Brewing Co. - Fairfield, CA"; "Almost everybody has their favorite cousin. Ours is a resiny citrus and pine joy with an easy drinking malt character. We love hanging out with our cousin at the beach, camping, hiking and every holiday party. Why not welcome our cousin to your next family gathering?"; "Don't follow the crowd. Be a Heretic and drink responsibly."
More broken record action. One of my first Cousins is Colby Chandler of Ballast Point, my late Pops' late-brother's son. It was at a family gathering in early-Spring 2002 that I got to taste Sculpin in beta. Now, the question is: Am I his Evil Cousin, vice versa, or are we both Evil Cousins?
The Crack! was evil in its intensity, so I was gentle in my Glug so as to keep things on an Even Keel (sorry, different beer, different brewery. I wonder what made me think of that ...). It's a Cousin thing, yinz wouldn't understand. Once decanted, an in-glass swirl raised a finger of foamy, fizzy, tawny head with moderate retention. Color was a gorgeous Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5) with NE-quality clarity, prompting the Gelt Gang of Midas, Croesus & Mammon to come in from the living room, where they were watching playov hockey on tellly, for a taste. Nose smelled like I was chopping down a pine tree for my living room, or better yet, since it is spring, running the spent trees through a chopper for mulch. Whee! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, big for the style. The taste was initially cool and minty, like a Calm Before the Storm. Suddenly, the the grapefruit citrus & fusel alcohol began to assert themselves & my poor, bruised tongue cringed in abject terror. This was an Evil beer and I felt ready to Abandon Ship. Fortunately, it passed and I found myself back on an Even Keel. Finish was dry, but minty, and I actually felt fresher for having sucked it down than I did before I started. Summer cooler, here it comes!
2,258 characters
3.94/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Lacy, persistent off-white head on a clear pale-golden body. lots of bubbles.
Smells of piney hops, with just a hint of caramel.
A slow wave of pine across the tongue. Alcohol is well hidden and it finishes fairly clean. Some lingering citrus notes on the roof of my mouth.
For an imperial IPA, it's on the crisper, lighter side. Would pair nicely with a mild blue cheese.
Overall, pretty good. Imperial IPAs often feel like you shoved a handful of hops in your mouth, but this one is quite that aggressive. Probably won't make it a point to buy the bottle again, but I'd try it on tap if I saw it somewhere.
613 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Lacy, persistent off-white head on a clear pale-golden body. lots of bubbles.
Smells of piney hops, with just a hint of caramel.
A slow wave of pine across the tongue. Alcohol is well hidden and it finishes fairly clean. Some lingering citrus notes on the roof of my mouth.
For an imperial IPA, it's on the crisper, lighter side. Would pair nicely with a mild blue cheese.
Overall, pretty good. Imperial IPAs often feel like you shoved a handful of hops in your mouth, but this one is quite that aggressive. Probably won't make it a point to buy the bottle again, but I'd try it on tap if I saw it somewhere.
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3.81/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
4.31/5 rDev +9.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Tap @ Small Bar, Bristol - Pours cloudy gold with a white foamy medium head. Medium carbonation. Nice lacing. Aroma - citrus to the fore - orange/grapefruit, light malty notes. Taste - Sweet, citrus notes - orange/grapefruit, light resin/malts, crisp bitter finish. Solid citrus hop fronted IPA.
295 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Tap @ Small Bar, Bristol - Pours cloudy gold with a white foamy medium head. Medium carbonation. Nice lacing. Aroma - citrus to the fore - orange/grapefruit, light malty notes. Taste - Sweet, citrus notes - orange/grapefruit, light resin/malts, crisp bitter finish. Solid citrus hop fronted IPA.
295 characters
4.49/5 rDev +14.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L: It pours hazy orange amber under a 1” persistent sudsy white foam collar that hugs the side of the glass. The haze is from the hops.
S: Moderate aromas with citrus, grapefruit and some earthiness.
T: The beer starts with caramel rich malt then citrus rind bitterness – especially grapefruit – takes over and passes into the finish lingering through the aftertaste. As much hop flavor as bitterness with both coming in at slightly above moderate levels. The bitterness is assertive but not harsh and well balanced by the malt with lemon, grapefruit and melon notes.
F: Very creamy and smooth with a medium to medium full body and a slightly below medium body.
O: A big flavored, well balanced beer.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L: It pours hazy orange amber under a 1” persistent sudsy white foam collar that hugs the side of the glass. The haze is from the hops.
S: Moderate aromas with citrus, grapefruit and some earthiness.
T: The beer starts with caramel rich malt then citrus rind bitterness – especially grapefruit – takes over and passes into the finish lingering through the aftertaste. As much hop flavor as bitterness with both coming in at slightly above moderate levels. The bitterness is assertive but not harsh and well balanced by the malt with lemon, grapefruit and melon notes.
F: Very creamy and smooth with a medium to medium full body and a slightly below medium body.
O: A big flavored, well balanced beer.
711 characters
3.38/5 rDev -13.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Crystal clear golden honey colored with three inches of bright white foam that rose up high and lingered long. Had to wait for it to subside. Aroma of citrus hoppiness, some light floral notes. Big and intense grapefruit rind flavors upfront, very bitter, but somewhat one-dimensional. Moderate mouthfeel, even carbonation.
327 characters
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Crystal clear golden honey colored with three inches of bright white foam that rose up high and lingered long. Had to wait for it to subside. Aroma of citrus hoppiness, some light floral notes. Big and intense grapefruit rind flavors upfront, very bitter, but somewhat one-dimensional. Moderate mouthfeel, even carbonation.
327 characters
3.9/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
Evil Cousin from Heretic Brewing Company
Beer rating:
74.6% out of
100 with
515 ratings
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A: pale amber orange in color and topped with a pretty decent off white head. Head retention is alright and lacing is notably good.
S: orange peel and tangerine pulp suggest themselfs on the nose. Just an afterthought of rock candy finishes up the bouquet.
T: this is a pretty darn nice beer I'm pleasantly surprised. Green pine needle and orange pith show up with good bitterness. Dried candied citrus adds notes add in, as well as a faint suggestion of grain driven almost oatmeal sweetness. This is really quite bitter overall. Well done.
M: prickly and carbonic.
O: fruit on the nose and bitter on the palate, this fits the bill for a great DIPA. Sweet Malty flavors do not outweigh the suggestive force of hopping. My neg on this is it's lack of focus. Flavors are muddled and while it's in the right spectrum it misses the truly expressive nature which hops can provide. Then again im not sure how old this is. Either way a job well done!
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