P.A.C. Forever Double IPA
Spiteful Brewing

 

 

 

 

Batch #325-B tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a 1 pt 6 oz bomber on November 28, 2015. Look is cloudy gold with a thin head and some spotty lacing. Smell is mango, kiwi, pine and caramel malt notes. Taste is big juicy mango, kiwi, pine resin with some biscuit and caramel malt flavors. Feel is medium in body while somewhat dry and a little bitter in the finish.

 

 

Appearance: straw yellow in color with a medium cloudy body. Clean white head of a finger and a half on the pour which settled in to the edges of the glass while drinking. Scant random lacing left behind with each pull.

Smell: juicy front shines with highlights of pineapple, mango, papaya, and kiwi. Some resinous herbal pine and bitterness pick up on the body. Malty compliments of caramel and buttery sweetness play well with the bright juicy hop profile. Juiciness wins out on the end and lingers on the nose.

Taste: big front of tropical/floral fruits really grabs the drinker. Biscuit and caramel provide a wonderful base for the hop profile to shine. Herbal piney slaps you around with some bitterness but it doesn't interfere with the juicy hop deliciousness. Balance throughout makes this an awfully crushable DIPA.

Mouthfeel: carbonation isn't over done with allows the bright characteristics to really shine. Malt backbone is secondary but adds pleasant drinkability. Crushable.

Overall: saw some mixed reviews on this one but it turns out to be a juicy easy drinking IPA that you would expect from Spiteful. I love Pipeworks but I believe these folks are making the best hoppy beers in Chicago. At a month out this is still an elite IPA.

 

 

 

 

 

22oz Bomber
$9.99
Binny's - Bolingbrook

P.A.C. is the lightest of goldens with enough haze running throughout to make it tough to peer through. Carbonation rushes up from a couple two, tree different points on the bottom of the glass. The pure white head forms easily and grows to a finger in height holding strong at a cap. The foam leaves behind thin sheet lacing that I'll have to scrape off.

The malt used is the palest of the pale. They're a little biscuity but mostly sugar cookie forward. This lays down a canvas for the hop profile. There's a punch of pithy citrus and crushed aspirin. A flash of cattiness runs through while herbal, yet crisp, hops run an undercurrent. There aren't many IIPAs like this one on the market anymore.

The taste follows the nose closely but is magnified. The malts are pale and simply add a touch of sugar for some semblance of balance. This beer is all about the hop profile. It's bitter upfront with the crushed aspirin and catty notes. That meshes with pure pithy grapefruit and orange in the middle. On the finish, the pith takes over. A flash of pine runs through on the swallow and there's a ghost-like herbalness running throughout.. This is damn fine beer!

Weighing in at 9.1% this beer drinks like a 6% IPA. The body is moderate at best with a carbonation lively enough to make it feel a touch less. The bitterness hits right away from the tip of the tongue to the back of the throat. The finish dries up pretty quickly, accentuating the bitterness and leaving me wanting more. Crazy drinkable.

Spiteful has done it again with yet another delicious hop concoction. The hop profile is one I don't come across much these days and have always been a fan. Certainly a beer worth picking up.

 

 

 

 

Hazy orange, long lasting head of white foam, spotty lace, lasting surface coverage.
Pungent aroma, catty and earthy hops linger, fresh citrusy punch up front.
Taste is full of citrus peel bitterness, grapefruit pith and a hint of guava. Resinous bitter pine flashes by as well. Interesting and shape-shifting. Medium bodied, never heavy or sticky, finishes dry and bitter. Lean and mean, this is my kind of DIPA. Another solid hitter from Spiteful.