Dock's No-No DIPA
The Mitten Brewing Co.

Oo ... me-likey. 8oz pour from M-Brew in Ferndale was something just short of $4... haven't had anything from The Mitten Brewing, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Well I'm glad I did. In a word... dank. Potent, raw hops with some caramel sweetness, but it's mostly loads of piney, resinous, and slightly floral hops. Quite hot for 9%, but at the same time, very drinkable. It feels like it has an ABV higher than nine, but I guess it's probably a good thing it isn't.

I'll be keeping my eye out for more of The Mitten's stuff ... I liked this quite a bit.

On tap at Grand Rapids brewpub. 8.9% 77 IBU
Pours an essentially clear bright burnt orange colour with thin rim of white head.
Aroma of caramel malt, pine, pineapple, tangerine and orange.
Sweet and sticky tropical fruit - pineapple especially - tangerine, sweet mandarin orange, and some resinous pine coat the palate - caramel malt underlying.
Sticky moderately full bittersweet mouthfeel - strong piney resinous hop presence yet really more on the sweet side of the bittersweet.
Now 3+ weeks into beercation and if not the best IPA so far, not far off… (Dinner at Maine still leading the pack).

 

draught
Deep, medium orange, with an amber tinge, at the periphery. Spiced, sweet, medium malt, with a subtle bit of Mandarin orange peel, to the aroma. Medium light citrus peel and caramelized malt flavors. Goes out with a relaxed citrus peel note.

IBU: 77

Nice, crisp, hoppy and flavorful Double IPA. Well done job by The Mitten Brewing Company!

Served on tap at the pub in a snifter glass. Dark orange in color with a thin collar of foam. Nice tropical and pine aromas with a bit of caramel malt. Flavors of resinous pine wash over the palate carrying tropical goodness and mandarin orange along with. Nice smooth, and and little creamy feel.

 

12 oz can from superspak. No dating. Poured into smokestack snifter.

Deep burnt orange color, completely opaque, with a tall creamy butter colored head of 3 fingers, receding slowly to 2, leaving tons of lace behind.

Heavy sticky caramel malt and mango open the nose, with sticky pine resins, and hints of pineapple and tangerine. Very slight red grapefruit and papaya.

Flavor hits first with heavy sticky resins and caramel roll; followed by a clean punch of lemon rind, tangerine, orange juice, white grapefruit juice, and slight papaya. Sticky resins and bitter earthy pine remain on the palate.

Feel is creamy and nicely carbonated; Has a good level of perceptible alcohol warmth and dryness but not overly so; resins hang on forever.

Overall, a stellar double IPA that any hop head should seek out. Very clean, very dirty, very sticky, very smooth.

This may be my favorite DIPA in Grand Rapids...

Pours a cloudy orange with two fingers of off white head. Good retention.
Definitely get the malts on the nose. Some fruitiness as well.
Taste is malt forward with citrus, pineapple, melon notes.
Medium body with good carb level.
Overall better balance than I thought it was going to have. Malts a bit more pronounced than I prefer, alcohol not hidden at all.

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 1/17/2019. Pours slightly hazy deep golden/orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big mandarin orange/juice, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, citrus peel/zest, wood, light peppercorn, pine, honey, bread dough, toasted biscuit, light caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge mandarin orange/juice, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, citrus peel/zest, wood, light peppercorn, pine, honey, bread dough, toasted biscuit, light caramel, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of mandarin orange/juice, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, honey, caramel, bread dough, toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and dark/bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, fairly sticky, and lightly resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 8.9% after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding DIPA. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops and dark/bready malt flavors; dangerously smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the mellowly bitter/resinous/drying finish, not aggressive. Amazing 100% Mosaic profile. Extremely juicy and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a great balanced dark/bready malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on Midwest tasting style example.