DDH Simcoe Bomb
Sloop Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

Here's how it went down. A pint can was poured into a clear glass Imperial pint mug. The color is of strawberry blond and there is a pretty head. The juicy hop aroma of a well made NEIPA is omnipresent. Initially, it almost tastes like juice until the Simcoe hops take over. It's much like the Sluice Bomb, very easy going down. The double dry hopping works well and this is far from too sweet. While the 6.5% ABV is on the low side of this style, it's perfect for the copious hop taste. Simcoe hop lovers must give this a try.

 

 

Poured into a 16 oz tulip glass canned on 10/02/2020. Pours a very hazy yellow orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Smell is marijuana, peach, passionfruit, a hint of garlic, pine, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows peach, passionfruit, marijuana, garlic, pine, apricot, and grapefruit really balanced with a little bitterness, but loaded with flavor. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above medium, a tad sticky but not dry, soft carbonation, and at 6.5% drinks bigger in body and flavor. 4.5

Overall this is another excellent variant of this DDH series and I would definitely suggest giving it a try. 4.25

 

Ooooh fuck, I absolutely LOVED the regular Simcoe Bomb I split with a buddy last year, so when it came to my attention that Sloop did a DDH version, I absolutely had to run to the store to pick up a can. Yes, I did get a single can, because that's my prerogative. Should I trust these guys enough to get four at this point, though? Yeah, probably. But, anyway... I digress, let's jump in!

Pours a humorously-opaque yellow-orange color with absolutely no light penetration (save to give it some slight highlights) and a generous dollop of foam that builds up with two solid fingers, leaving behind some consistent lace and very solid legs. Surface is totally covered with no receding suds whatsoever. A subsequent small pour yields the same two fingers and even more retention. Great looking stuff!

This beer smells exactly like what it claims to be on the tin: a DDH Simcoe "bomb" with all of the implications of that. Intense pine? Check. Meaty, pulpy ruby-red grapefruit? Yup. Slight dankness and damp earth with a hint of spice? It does that too, o silly nonbeliever! There's even a hint of lighter pit/orchard fruit here (apricot/nectarine) along with a very subtle tropical character (passion fruit along with perhaps some guava). Simcoe is currently undergoing a renaissance in the NEIPA realm, the way I see it, and its unique charms seem to have it worming its way into unusual hop combos, so it's cool to see it act on its own in something like this once in a while. It reminds me that, deep down, Simcoe is still an intense citrus/pine conjurer, first and foremost. I love how it works with something like Idaho 7 (as in Mast Landing's October Sun) or Motueka (as in Battery Steele's recent experimental IPA offering, Onsight #14), for example, but there's something primal and epic about Simcoe by itself that is detailed perfectly here.

First sip is smooth and airy with an intense hit of pine right off the bat, tapering off and revealing strong pomelo and passion fruit. Nectarine, light spice, and grassiness follow, leading into a dry and quenching finish brought to life by a balancing oat/wheat-like softness. Somewhat dirty and earthy minerality upon subsequent sips, but there's a lot of interest in here. It's almost coarse and a bit bitter, for sure, but there's a ton of complexity happening that makes it superb. The balance between the way the malt is introduced and the way the aggression is brought out by the intense Simcoe character is what really makes this worthwhile; it ends up feeling like some kind of elixir that is, at once, delicious and dangerous; beneficial and forbidden. Man, this is some really good stuff. I would love to try DDH Simcoe Bomb vs. Simcoe Bomb in a side-by-side, though, because I'm not actually convinced this is strictly "better" than its single dry-hopped sister. They're different beers; both excellent, and serving slightly different purposes.

I'm going to be that asshole who gives this an "overall" lower than the two most relevant "component" ratings, however, because I still think this could be pushed slightly more, which would make it comparable to something from Hill Farmstead. It's not that far from such a level of quality, though, and I do this only out of love. You should trust me when I say this is one of the most savor-able, desirable, awesome New England IPAs I've had in recent memory. Buy or die.

A: Poured from the can into a tulip glass. Body is hazy golden-khaki with a wisp of whitish head on top. Some splotchy lace.

S: Nice nose that clearly showcases that piney Simcoe hop. Pine, pine needles, earthy melon rind and leafy, herbal hops.

T: Loses steam in the flavor and feel departments: first noticed is the thinness on the palate. Flavor profile is also a tad "thin," with piney, grassy hop bitterness noted up front, but it doesn't really sustain itself on the palate. Some lemon and grapefruit peel fruity bitterness as well.

M: As noted above, a bit thin in feel, call it medium in heft. Lacks the juiciness of the "Bomb" series that I'm used to (and like); instead, it comes off as a bitter, hazy IPA.

O: It's not a bad beer, it just doesn't live up to what I like about the Sloop "Bomb" beers. Maybe double-dry-hopping with Simcoe isn't the greatest idea. . . .

 

 

Pours a copper color with over a finger of white head. The nose is fruity with a trace of bitterness. The flavor follows the nose. On the whole, this is not a bad offering but the name seems to imply that the drinker will be hit with a big hop bomb - that was not the case.

 

 

 

 

Opaque golden orange in appearance with a creamy white head. Good amount of retention, and lots of streaky lacing.
Smells like honeydew melon, mango, pineapple, peach, cantaloupe, and toasty biscuits.
It tastes like cantaloupe and honeydew melon upfront, leading into mango, papaya, peach and pineapple. Slightly toasty and creamy malt forms the mid-palate, with an intense weedy dankness pervading the palate throughout. Finishes slightly sweet but balanced, with a hint of lingering honeydew melon.
Medium-bodied mouthfeel, creamy and soft, moderately carbonated, smooth and fairly clean.
A delicious beer, highly recommended to all fans of Simcoe hops and NEIPAs.