Twin Pines
Sawdust City Brewing Co.

Aug 20 2025

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Mar 26 2020, listed at 9% and served barely chilled. I added this beer to my 'wants' in late 2015, and I am thrilled to finally cross it off the list.

Pours fairly clear, coloured golden-yellow and topped with an inch of soapy, foamy white head that dissipates within five minutes or so. Its remnants include an even curtain of lace imprinted upon the glass, as well as a tight collar encircling a patch of film; looks good to me. Tons of stone fruit and citrus fruitiness on the nose, in addition to notes of mango, passion fruit, pine resin and melon; the alcohol is also easily discerned as it warms.

The aroma has already revealed most of what the flavour profile has to offer - apricot, passion fruit, papaya, grapefruit and orange at the front end, with pine resin and herbal, earthy hop bitterness rounding out a rather bitter tail end. Resiny bitterness, pithiness and earthy hops linger into a moderately bitter aftertaste. Full-bodied, with moderately low carbonation levels that lightly prickle the palate; feels smooth and a tad oily on the tongue. I finished my serving quickly enough, but one should be plenty for most BAs on any given night.

Final Grade: 4.13, an A-. I have used the adjective 'dangerous' to describe more than a few beers over the years, but for Sawdust City's Twin Pines DDHIIPA it almost seems like an understatement - I know that sipping a beer like this quickly is a risky proposition, yet that next sip comes all too soon. I would not describe this as a particularly novel DIPA - there's nothing here I haven't seen before - but it comes together quite nicely, and I'm hard-pressed to come up with any real complaints about this one. Sawdust City has put out a superb double IPA that I must highly recommend to all hopheads who can procure a sample.

 

Review from notes. LCBO purchase for $5.25 CDN. Listed at 9% ABV. Served cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - Rich and bright golden yellowy color. Two plus fingers of ever-lasting white head rich and frothy with a nice trail of spidery lacing left behind.

Smell - Pine resin, and citrus, orange, grapefruit in particular and leafy hops are abundant. Big aromatics in all.

Taste - Just like the nose, assertively bitter with pine resin ad leafy hops, but twinkles of sweetness of grapefruit and orange and to a lesser extent stone fruit.

Mouthfeel - Big and rich, fairly full bodied, good carbonation and fairly dry finish. Twin Pines isn't holding back this is definitely a 9% ABV DIPA.

Overall - Another top notch brew from Sawdust City, great flavors and balance and easy enough to drink for such a heavy hitter. Definitely worth a try and the steep cost, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for others since this ranks up with Surround Sound by CA (as well as Immodest by NB if available) as the best DIPA in the local market.

Quite a nice beer here. Pours golden orange with decent collar. Light forest pine greets you with subtle fruity grasses behind. Think forest walk on a nice June day. Taste is robust and chewy with strong pine finish. An unexpected forest treat.