The Decade Double
West Sixth Brewing Company

 

Bit darker than I guessed it would be being an IPA. Head is off white. Nose is pure dank. Taste is semi bitter with a slight bite, I think from the high ABV. Aftertaste is also slight bitterness, however then there is a gripping of the throat, but ever so slightly. Good beer.

Single can from Party Source

Closing out their tenth year with a bang, West Sixth Brewing is doubling down on their IPA. Chocked full of Strata, Mosaic, Chinook, Comet and Simcoe hops, this strong and sassy beer gives us all a decade's worth of celebration.

The Decade Double kicks off their birthday party with a medium amber hue that's laced with a fine haze. As bold fruit aromatics roll off of the froth, so do a dank and herbal perfume. Sweet malts layer on the tongue with a blend of caramel, honey and toasted nuttiness to suggest granola.

As the bold ale roll across the middle palate, it sweeter malts slowly recede and the hops start to expand. The flavors of red grapefruit and tangerine win over the tastebuds first, but not without a racy tropical followup of mango and pineapple. With bold estery complements of peach and apricot with a cantaloup wrap, the fruitiness is complete. Trending spicy and bitter, the hops develop a strong herbal bite with a return of hemp, pine and peppery resins late in taste.

Full bodied, smooth but ending with a gripping hop bite, the anniversary ale closes on the bitter side of bittersweet; and with a long and bitter afterglow laced with a bevy of fruit peels and curaçao-like spice.