Double IPA
De Steeg Brewing Company

this one is back on at de steeg, and honestly one of their finer offerings. its a woody double ipa, with a lot of medium grain balance. caramel properties in the nose balance out the pine family hop complexion. clear beer too, shiny like a new penny, and with a generous white head on it, a rarity for de steeg, their beers are usually quite under carbonated. the hops and grain work well together, and while i usually dont much care for the balanced big ipa, i think the crystal malt adds a necessary layer in this one. hops never get real bitter, but show and oily freshness in the finish. clean drinking beer too, no residual bitter or stick on the palate, and it hides its strength pretty well too. nothing belgian about this, its a nice departure from the norm at de steeg. something with a little more mass appeal like this may help them grow a little bit. i think its different enough from other area ipa to be memorable, but not so strange as to isolate itself. very well done.