Double Polaris
Bellwoods Brewery
- From:
- Bellwoods Brewery
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 85
- Avg:
- 3.73 | pDev: 6.97%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 7
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Apr 27, 2016
- Added:
- Nov 07, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
This double IPA is the result of experimentation with Polaris, a new (to us) hop variety and a couple malts we’ve never used before. The resulting beer showcases slightly more caramelized malt character than some of our other hoppy beers, and a focus on the strange but exciting high alpha acid German hop.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by DaveBar from Canada (ON)
3.64/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.64/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
From notes.... Had at brewery to tap served at 7 or 8deg C or so in a standard Bellwoods glass.
A- Pours a rather large head that did not last very long before film out. Medium gold colour and unfiltered.
S- No where near the hops you think would be in a DIPA. There are some with some sweetness but definitely lacking on the dry hopping front
T- Good amount of hops but nothing that would be expected from a DIPA. Left me wanting more from the first sip. Malt and there but I think they focused on marketing and advertising instead of brewing a good DIPA.
M- Standard IPA and I wanted a DIPA. Wanted dry and a touch creamy. Got low carbonation and sticky.
O- Not a very good DIPA. Go back to the drawing board Bellwoods and get it right. You do standard IPA's pretty good but this one kind of stunk in a few ways. Will buy again IF they formulate a better version.
Food Pairing
I did not eat anything with this brew there but would imagine it would go well with........ Something sweet and sour as that would pull more hops out of this bit of a bland brew.
Enjoy
Feb 20, 2016A- Pours a rather large head that did not last very long before film out. Medium gold colour and unfiltered.
S- No where near the hops you think would be in a DIPA. There are some with some sweetness but definitely lacking on the dry hopping front
T- Good amount of hops but nothing that would be expected from a DIPA. Left me wanting more from the first sip. Malt and there but I think they focused on marketing and advertising instead of brewing a good DIPA.
M- Standard IPA and I wanted a DIPA. Wanted dry and a touch creamy. Got low carbonation and sticky.
O- Not a very good DIPA. Go back to the drawing board Bellwoods and get it right. You do standard IPA's pretty good but this one kind of stunk in a few ways. Will buy again IF they formulate a better version.
Food Pairing
I did not eat anything with this brew there but would imagine it would go well with........ Something sweet and sour as that would pull more hops out of this bit of a bland brew.
Enjoy
Rated by imonhiatus from New Jersey
3.63/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.63/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
that's different. really spicy. nose is sharp. taste is powerful. very unique hop. not my fav. but a good beer none the less.
Dec 01, 2015
Reviewed by Rutager from Canada (BC)
3.89/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
3.89/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from Sammy. Cheers, man!
Pretty clear amber-gold, except for a bunch of small chunks. Nice two+ fingers of white head.
Floral, sweet tropical fruit nose with green onions and a touch of cedar. Some sweet smooth grains and a bit of honey.
Big sweet, lightly fruity hops on the tongue. Floral notes are there along with some bitter herbal flavours in the finish. Just a touch of that green onion from the nose. Some smooth sweet malts are there too, holding up all those hops.
Nice enough beer, well made of course but I'm not sure I'm sold on these fancy hops ...that I've never heard of.
Nov 24, 2015Pretty clear amber-gold, except for a bunch of small chunks. Nice two+ fingers of white head.
Floral, sweet tropical fruit nose with green onions and a touch of cedar. Some sweet smooth grains and a bit of honey.
Big sweet, lightly fruity hops on the tongue. Floral notes are there along with some bitter herbal flavours in the finish. Just a touch of that green onion from the nose. Some smooth sweet malts are there too, holding up all those hops.
Nice enough beer, well made of course but I'm not sure I'm sold on these fancy hops ...that I've never heard of.
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)
3.68/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
3.68/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from the brewery. Served in my newly reacquired Kuhnhenn tulip. Bottled November 6th.
A - A few fingers of white foam slowly settles to a thin cap, thick collar, and splotches of lace. Transparent bronze with a few tiny bubbles visible.
S - The aroma is a bit hard to place, although it is firmly in the new German family of hops. Perhaps a mixture of melon, onion, and cauliflower? Sweet and starchy; hard to tell where the malt ends and the hop profile begins. Kind of odd, particularly if you haven't had much experience with the new Hüll hops.
T - The flavor is more typical DIPA, with a sweet, solid, malt backbone, herbal bitterness, and some floral hop flavors. It's better than the aroma but not super exciting. Alcohol is well hidden.
M - Medium juicy body, pleasant carbonation, dry finish with a touch of residual stickiness. A bit of alcohol warmth near the end of the 500ml bottle.
D - Eh. Cool that they are experimenting with new hop varietals, but I don't think Polaris is a great stand-alone offering. I think this might work as a secondary hop in conjunction with something really fruity - it's high in AA% and has some funky, unique flavors.
Nov 18, 2015A - A few fingers of white foam slowly settles to a thin cap, thick collar, and splotches of lace. Transparent bronze with a few tiny bubbles visible.
S - The aroma is a bit hard to place, although it is firmly in the new German family of hops. Perhaps a mixture of melon, onion, and cauliflower? Sweet and starchy; hard to tell where the malt ends and the hop profile begins. Kind of odd, particularly if you haven't had much experience with the new Hüll hops.
T - The flavor is more typical DIPA, with a sweet, solid, malt backbone, herbal bitterness, and some floral hop flavors. It's better than the aroma but not super exciting. Alcohol is well hidden.
M - Medium juicy body, pleasant carbonation, dry finish with a touch of residual stickiness. A bit of alcohol warmth near the end of the 500ml bottle.
D - Eh. Cool that they are experimenting with new hop varietals, but I don't think Polaris is a great stand-alone offering. I think this might work as a secondary hop in conjunction with something really fruity - it's high in AA% and has some funky, unique flavors.
Rated by Corson from Canada (AB)
4.2/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.2/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bottled 8 days ago.
Nov 15, 2015
Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)
3.19/5 rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.19/5 rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured a translucent dirty orange colour with half a finger of cream coloured head.
The nose very weak for a DIPA. Some musky/dank notes with a slight vegetal presence. Not an overly inviting nose.
Palate follows the nose. Some musky notes up front giving way to an onion-like flavour. Decent bitterness.
Medium body, somewhat sticky. Light carbonation.
A rare miss from Bellwoods.
Nov 13, 2015The nose very weak for a DIPA. Some musky/dank notes with a slight vegetal presence. Not an overly inviting nose.
Palate follows the nose. Some musky notes up front giving way to an onion-like flavour. Decent bitterness.
Medium body, somewhat sticky. Light carbonation.
A rare miss from Bellwoods.
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)
3.76/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.76/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Very approachable dipa. Not too palate erasing. Understated hop intensity. Worth trying. Lemon in finish. Lace and fresh light orange coloured. Sweat funk in aroma.
.
Nov 08, 2015.
Reviewed by Coronaeus from Canada (ON)
3.61/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.61/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle from brewery, two days from bottling.
Light amber with light head. Very dank, grassy, even fresh brussels sprouts aromas. Sharp biscuit on the tongue. Cucumber, grass, mild citrus flavours, a little brussels sprouts here too. Thicker body. Despite some odd aromas and disparate flavours, this is rather enjoyable. Very odd. Once I put my finger on the brussels sprouts aroma I couldn't help but feel this flavour and aroma dominate. While that sounds unpleasant, I quite enjoyed this.
Nov 08, 2015Light amber with light head. Very dank, grassy, even fresh brussels sprouts aromas. Sharp biscuit on the tongue. Cucumber, grass, mild citrus flavours, a little brussels sprouts here too. Thicker body. Despite some odd aromas and disparate flavours, this is rather enjoyable. Very odd. Once I put my finger on the brussels sprouts aroma I couldn't help but feel this flavour and aroma dominate. While that sounds unpleasant, I quite enjoyed this.
Reviewed by jrenihan from Canada (ON)
3.79/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
While I have come across Polaris a couple of times, I don't have a lot of familiarity with it and don't recall ever having a beer that focused on it.
The nose is a bit unusual - fruity, but light on citrus. Melon sticks out to me. A bit of a weedy scent as well, a bit dank. The taste is similar, although citrus comes more to the front, and the flavour is somewhat brighter than the nose had suggested. There is an odd flavour accompanying the fruit which I really could not put my finger on, but having read Bellwoods' description of the beer, I do agree that there are flavours of cucumber and mint present. I can't say that these unusual flavours really work for me, but the rest of it is nice. Malt body provides a caramel backbone.
Generally, I like this beer, but with reservations. I am not sure Polaris is quite to my tastes, as I find it hard to get past the unusual flavours it provides. Could be an acquired taste or just not for me.
Nov 07, 2015The nose is a bit unusual - fruity, but light on citrus. Melon sticks out to me. A bit of a weedy scent as well, a bit dank. The taste is similar, although citrus comes more to the front, and the flavour is somewhat brighter than the nose had suggested. There is an odd flavour accompanying the fruit which I really could not put my finger on, but having read Bellwoods' description of the beer, I do agree that there are flavours of cucumber and mint present. I can't say that these unusual flavours really work for me, but the rest of it is nice. Malt body provides a caramel backbone.
Generally, I like this beer, but with reservations. I am not sure Polaris is quite to my tastes, as I find it hard to get past the unusual flavours it provides. Could be an acquired taste or just not for me.
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!