Tripa
Fifty West Brewing Co

 

Poured golden amber with about a half inch of dense foam from a bottle into a Teku glass. Caramel malt is the dominant nose. Taste is well-rounded, slight bitterness offset by bourbon-like alcohol tinge. Drinks more like a wee heavy than an IPA, but with 11% ABV, that's to be expected. A nice sipping beer, almost an IPA-version of Backwoods Bastard.

 

 

 

 

 

This 2015 release is the result of a lesson well learned. An 11% DIPA, done well, is a tough thing to pull off. The 1st iteration of Tripa (2014) was really hot- the alcohol showed itself.. This new 2015 version pulls it off...

L- Dark copper with a frothy, tall, carmel-colored head. Leaves thick lacing after each sip.

S- The botle lists Mosaic, Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus, and Azacca hops- that's definitely hitting you in the face here. Mostly an earthy hop smell; nothing tropical.

T- A great east coast IPA. A nice, big malt backbone putting forth it's massive 11%, which is well-hidden and slightly caramel-ly sweet. Again, the hops hit you in the face... the label says "An Experiment In Excessive Hopping"... so true.

F- <I>Exactly how I want my DIPA to feel in my mouth! Ooooo, I love you! (lol) </I>
Seriously, this beer is nice and chewy, and goes down super smooth.

O- One of the best DIPAs I've had. It's $8 for a 12 oz. bottle, which is expensive, but you can tell they stuck a butt-load of ingredients in this beer; count in the fact that this beer's 11% will pretty much count as 2 towards your evening's total- it's worth it! Second time's a charm 50W!