Pipewrench
Gigantic Brewing Company

PipewrenchPipewrench
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From:
Gigantic Brewing Company
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #1,466
ABV:
8%
Score:
90
Ranked #8,548
Avg:
4.05 | pDev: 8.89%
Reviews:
29
Ratings:
183
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 21, 2023
Added:
Aug 11, 2014
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  25
Description: Our Gigantic IPA aged in Ransom Old Tom Gin barrels for 3 months. Botanicals from the gin meld perfectly with citrusy hops and subtle wood in an incredibly complex beer.

Tasting Notes: The seductive aromatics of juniper berries, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander seed. cardamom pods and angelica root blend perfectly with the bright tropical, citrus fruit and mango hops notes. The palate is rich and silky, with malt flavors punctuated by lively citrus zest and heady exotic notes of coriander and teak. The beer continues with suppleness and power, with the warmth and richness of the malt carrying clean, focused botanicals on a clean, elegant finish.

History & Style: Pipewrench IPA was inspire by the "cocktail" of the same name. A Pipewrench is a shot of gin dropped in your favorite IPA, akin to a Boilermaker. The combination of citrusy hops and complex Gin botanicals mix perfectly in refreshing complexity.

Ingredients: Local Bull Run water, Barley, Hops, Yeast; Malts: NW Pale, German Munich; Hops: Crystal, Simcoe, Cascade, Centennial, Magnum.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Back_in_the_Saddle:
Photo of Back_in_the_Saddle
Reviewed by Back_in_the_Saddle from Vermont

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
I poured this into a snifter. The appearance was a nice hazy golden looking orange color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute. There was some light glossy lacing sticking but ending up sliding down. The smell was practically almost perfect. The gin - barrel aging did this beer well as a really nice sweet to woody citrus to big piney/sprucy and somewhat juniper - ish booziness overcomes my nose. The taste took all of those previously mentioned flavors and combined to touch and flavor for a sticky piney taste, thoroughly bittersweet all the way through. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sipping quality about it. The carbonation was good for the AIPA style and for me. It’s not as harsh as expected but I think that could be the gin - barrel aging. Overall, I could be biased but because I love gin and AIPA’s this an absolutely awesome beer that I would love to have again.
Nov 22, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.84 by travolta from California

Jul 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.07 by jason_nwx from Oregon

May 01, 2023
Photo of elNopalero
Reviewed by elNopalero from Michigan

4.39/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Pours from the bottle a malty, caramel hue with toffee colored foaming.
Botanicals dominate the nose, with a heavy juniper presence. It’s slightly medicinal in places on the sip, with more juniper and conifer notes. Slightly sweet on the finish. It’s an interesting beer, surprising in ways.
Dec 31, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by Zekenyce from New Jersey

Sep 08, 2022
 
Rated: 3.79 by Lucnifter from California

Feb 20, 2022
 
Rated: 4.24 by NorCalYeti from California

Sep 25, 2021
Photo of josanguapo
Reviewed by josanguapo from Spain

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
De Beer Republic. En copa Teku. Jugando a Spiderman Miles Morales. El paso por barrica de Ginebra le da un toque alcohólico peculiar que no molesta y que se integra bien con el lúpulo herbal. Incluso dan ganas de beberla más rápido de lo aconsejable por su abv
Apr 04, 2021
 
Rated: 4.46 by RDW from Nebraska

Jan 05, 2021
 
Rated: 4.09 by desint from Belgium

Dec 02, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Velivolus1 from Vermont

Aug 02, 2020
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

4.3/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This beer is my first venture into the Gigantic Brewing Company. The beer is an Imperial IPA aged in Gin Barrels. I am unsure what to expect from this beer. I wonder if the beer will have heavy barrel notes or will the IPA overpower the barrel age. The beer is about 50 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The pour of the beer produced a three-fingered head. The head of the beer is airy and creamy. The head dissipated slowly, leaving lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is SRM 9, a pale to medium amber with copper hues. The clarity of the beer is somewhat hazy. The beer's appearance is gorgeous.

The aromas are herbal, botanicals, floral, wood, earthy, pine, oranges lemon, toasted malt, a hint of solvent, and phenolic (closer to band-aids).

The flavors in the beer are herbal, botanicals, floral, wood, earthy, pine, oranges, resin, tar, juniper, phenolic, dank, a touch of cardboard, and musty.

The mouthfeel of the beer is astringent and slick.

The body of the beer is medium-plus, medium-plus carbonation, and a full finish.

This beer surprised me! The beer has a little bit of age to it, but I can look past it. My thoughts about the barrel age on the beer earlier are unfounded. The gin barrel melds well with this beer. This beer has loads of pine and gin botanicals. Then the beer shifts in this dank IPA monster from the grave. The beer has this oily mouthfeel that gives it character. I know the beer is less than three months old; therefore, the cardboard hint is probably from aging in gin barrels. Overall, a substantial offering from Gigantic.
Nov 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.04 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Oct 31, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by Velivolus from Vermont

Oct 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.31 by davidsonte2 from Washington

Jan 26, 2019
 
Rated: 3.81 by stratusjeans from Washington

Dec 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.3 by bigpoppa67 from Wisconsin

Dec 17, 2018
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
I have openly copped to my aversion to liquor not because I don't like it, but because I like it far too much! As a young imbiber, some of my worst adventures were due to drinking (especially) bourbon. I still do not have a taste for it as I do for Rye Whisky, but my second fave came as a result of my first Med Cruise in 1985. Yeah, we hit on better beer, like aged Chimay (Red/Rouge), but Heineken was still highly prevalent & upon meeting some English birds in Rome, I got on to (not simply) G&Ts but Tanqueray & tonic! I used to drink gin with mixers like it was going out of style until craft beer came along & I simply got immersed in beer. This will be both a throwback & a melding of two eras in my life. This was another pre-parting of the ways Bottle from Tavour.

From the Bottle: "'Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.' - Bob Dylan"; "Our Gigantic IPA aged in Ransom Old Tom Gin barrels for 3 months. Botanicals from the gin meld perfectly with citrusy hops and subtle wood in an incredibly complex beer."; "[Beer] #24 in the endless series of limited edition and artisan beers"; "Artwork by Olivia Knapp".

More about Ms. Knapp, from the brewery's website: "Olivia Knapp's intricate hand drawn pen and ink style is influenced by European line engravings of decorative relief and scientific specimens from the 16th to 18th centuries. Her tight cross-hatching technique involves long, slow, and steady curved lines that articulate the surface contours of her subjects. Most of Olivia's [my, aren't we familiar?] content explores the relationship between desire, reason, and circumstance. You will most likely find her introspecting, daydreaming or drawing in a white room with high ceilings somewhere in Washington state."

I Pop!ped the cap & began a slow, gentle C-Line pour. I was a little taken aback as it huffed & it puffed & it created a massive three-plus (!) fingers of dense, rocky, foamy, French Vanilla-colored head with excellent retention. 8=O While I waited for it to fall back, I inhaled deeply. I could really smell the Gin botanicals! Man, talk about a groovy trip down Memory Lane … Color was a deeply cloudy Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9). Lifting it to my nose was a revelation! I could smell the hops, the gin & the wood, all very strongly. The common thinking is that one should not bottle-age AIPAs, but in this case, the few months since it was bottled have only helped it. What if the hops had been enough to overwhelm the gin & wood? 8=( I was blown away by the nose! Mouthfeel was medium, about par for the style. I let it roll around on my tongue to warm & in doing so, the aromatics just seemed to flood my sinus cavity! The wood of the barrel also came through as the hops lent it a very pleasant minty bitterness. Lemon bitters with gin from a barrel. That sums it up. 8=O OMFG! I just realized that I have no Gin in the house! I must go out & get some! I now want a T&T or at the very least, a G&T, in the worst way! In the meantime, I just want to savor this beer. Finish was insanely dry, only a step away from gaspingly dry. It was veddy dry in an English sort of way, don't you know. The botanicals remained on my lips, causing me to lick them in fond memory, like a departed girlfriend. I really don't want to go back to Tavour, but I will be watching for other Gin-barrel aged beers henceforth & now that I know how to make one, a Pipewrench beer/liquor cocktail will be in my future!
Nov 24, 2018
 
Rated: 4.1 by npendres from Wisconsin

Nov 17, 2018
Photo of arini10
Reviewed by arini10 from Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
One of the more creative and exciting beers I've tasted in a long time. Foam forms fairly stiff peaks and the flavor is multidimensional, the hops fornicating with the gin and malts into an unanticipated and rich flavor, only slightly let down by the smell.
Nov 09, 2018
Pipewrench from Gigantic Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 183 ratings