Paradies Nines I.P.A. Project: The Catcher (2013)
Paradox Beer Company

 

 

I've come to just accept this yeast strain as a paradox thing, love it or hate it i guess, and i fall into the latter group. a rye ipa, so yeast forward that the rye cannot be distinguished, nor can any appreciable hops, although this may have been aged passed its prime. good carbonation, amber in color, golding a nice head, but also hosting a ton of floating white yeast chunks. yeast all the way up front, pushing bretty, less vinegar and acid than others from them, but its still not all the way pleasant. i don't hate the flavor of it though, my only real big issue with it is its utterly intense alcohol presence. this is a booze bomb, and at 7% abv, that just shouldn't be. its like two shots of cheap crap vodka got dropped into the beer. maybe some rye spice in the finish, but the higher order alcohols cover up anything that may have made this more appealing to me. better feel though for these guys, finally some carbonation and texture, i like this on the palate. overall another well thought up and poorly executed beer from paradox. i open these bottles now more as a science experiment than an attempt to drink an enjoyable beer. they are now judged by me against themselves, not against the craft beer market as a whole, for they would not fair well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

750 ml swing top bottle, no. 849 / 1440. It's a bit of a gusher when opened. Pours hazy copper amber with a huge meringue-like off white head that continues to grow for a long time and leaves a lot of lacing.

The aroma is sweey bready malts and toffee with some old hops and some spicy rye.

The flavor is sweet bready malts with some rye and belgian yeast and a bit of vinous alcohol with a decent bitterness in the finish. The mouth feel is a bit thin and watery.

Overall, it's interesting. I don't normally like the Belgian IPAs. This one seems a bit sweet and washed out and seems to try to have too much going on.

 

 

 

 

 

The beer pours a brilliant orange color with a nice lacy head. Maybe a little overcarbonated but it looks really nice in the glass.

Aroma is floral and citrusy. Very pleasant and aromatic, some alcohol and spice begin to show up in the nose as it warms.

The beers tastes sweet at first with a slightly bitter finish. Very well balanced and crisp at the end. You can taste a lot of citrus and maybe a slight acidity in the beer. It all goes together very nicely.

A little slick and acidic, medium bodied.

A very interesting beer. It does a great job of showing off floral and citrus hops and they really come through in the taste which is enjoyable. It is a little odd that it is acidic but maybe that is what happens when you age an IPA in a barrel. I would recommend this beer to others not as a great IPA but as a well balanced beer.

Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks, CA.

Bottle # 8/1440. Barrel info: 0013 AM-OAK 121212.

Pours a murky orange-brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, rye, wood, and white wine aromas. Taste is much the same with a white wine and Brett-like flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop and woody bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp but medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that has a very nice smell and some interesting flavors.