The Oracle
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

Deep yellow pour with a huge white head that holds on for a long time. Hoppy - citrus aroma. Taste is grapefruit style citrus with a ton of hops and bitterness from the beginning till the end. Almost like a non coated pill that gets stuck on your tongue. A bunch of pine too. Very slick resiny feel to it. I know my rdev is going to be way off on this an I am in the minority, but for a DIPA, I find this to be very unbalanced and not real enjoyable. As an American IPA, it I would score differently. If you like an IBU slap to the face then go for it for sure. Bell's makes some great beers. They have always been hit or miss with me though. This one is a miss personally.

 

 

 

 

This west coast IPA is hoppy for sure. I also could taste a strong malt presence.

 

 

 

 

Bottled 7/20/15; drank 8/1/15 @ the Family Compound.

Murky dull orange appearance.

HUGE eggnog head (careful pouring!); a frothy curtain of lace.

Mango, orange citrus & honey notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Mango & orange citrus flavors up front; a bitter bite on the finish.

Fruity & sweet but too bitter at the end for me to truly love.

Poured into a tall clear pint glass. Has a mixture of a peach/amber color, quite cloudy/hazy yet deep. Steady carbonation and head retention. Good lacing.

Aroma is both sweet and hoppy. Strong citrus notes like grapefruit, oranges, and lemons. Sweet notes like honey, caramel, and overall strong malty backbone. Other notes are obvious pine, some faint pineapple, apricots, and alcohol. All around floral, minty, hoppy, and sweet.

Perfumey-like taste with dank bitter hops. Citrus and sweet notes are really upfront on the palette, whilst the bitter hops sort of surround them and makes the beer complete. Grapefruit peel and strong alcohol is heavily noticeable in the aftertaste. The other notes mentioned in the aroma take the backseat but are still present. Medium-bodied.

 

 

 

 

12 ounce bottle poured into a tulip glass.

L---Hazy, burnt orange color. Thick, slightly off white head with very good retention and very good lacing.

S---Sweet & hoppy. Mostly citrus (orange/grapefruit/lemon), but some floral notes as well. Seems to promise a malt backbone in excess of what is advertised.

T---Definitely hop forward, as advertised. Strong citrus, as in the nose. A bit boozy, but with 10% ABV, no surprise. More malt & balance than advertised, which I find to be a good thing, not a problem. I know I'm imagining things, but I swear there's some chocolate in there at the finish.

F---A little astringent from the booziness/ABV. Very well carbonated. Very full mouthfeel. It definitely feels like something to take seriously.

O---This is a damn good beer. Full bodied and complexly flavored. I'll keep an eye out for this one in the future.

 

12/21/2018 (LF)