Gnarvana
Gnarly Barley Brewing Company
- From:
- Gnarly Barley Brewing Company
- Louisiana, United States
- Style:
- Hazy Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 90
- Avg:
- 4.16 | pDev: 14.66%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 08, 2020
- Added:
- May 25, 2018
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 2
SCORE
90
Outstanding
90
Outstanding
First brewed in celebration of our 4 year anniversary (May 2018) this Double India Pale Ale is loaded with fruity hops that packs a punch! For this special beer we started with pure hop resin and then super dry-hopped it with a combination of Citra® and Vic Secret™ hops at nearly 6.5 lbs of hops per barrel of beer (more hops than any other beer we brew). Awaken to a big pineapple aroma and total hop enlightenment.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
2.53/5 rDev -39.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
2.53/5 rDev -39.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
Initial impression from a 4-pack of 12 fl oz cans:
"Double India Pale Ale." No ABV listed on the can. Has tawdry label art.
From their website:
STYLE: Double India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%
FERMENTABLES: 2 Row, Malted Barley, Wheat, Oats
HOPS: Cascade, dry-hopped with Citra® & Vic Secret™
7.5% and they're calling it an imperial IPA. Lagunitas calls their 7.2% Born Yesterday a Pale Ale. What an odd world we live in.
Appearance is dull, with a murky dirty copper body that lacks any vibrance whatsoever. Head is frothy and off-white...not particularly creamy, robust, or otherwise remarkable.
Aroma hints at depleted tropical fruit. Dried passionfruit, papaya, stale guava, boozy pineapple, mango that's been sitting out in the sun...this doesn't suggest a great hop profile. Caramalt seems present but unnecessary judging by the sweetness indicated by the aroma...why not go with just pale malt/2-row?
T/Mf: Hop profile isn't great...lots of stale/warm tropical fruit notes that don't harmonize or synergize to form anything of interest. Caramalt (or maybe it's crystal?) injects additional malt sweetness where it isn't need, throwing an already minimally bitter ostensible IIPA further out of balance. The warm pineapple at the heart of its hop profile is quite unpleasant.
Unrefreshing. Medium-bodied. Coating. A bit sticky. Smooth. Wet. Has a subpar presence on the palate overall, but at least it's well-carbonated.
OVERALL: A mediocre and overpriced attempt at an imperial IPA from Gnarly Barley. The hop profile is downright mundane...I don't really see what they were going for. Fails to showcase either Cascade or Citra well to any extent (drink Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, Kern River's Citra, then this, and you'll see how badly this is brewed), so I guess the hop profile is mainly Vic Secret...which would indicate most of their hop flavour is coming from dry-hopping (which I thought was primarily for aroma, but I'm not a pro brewer).
I mean it's not awful; I can definitely drink it. But I don't look forward to the other 3 cans from my 4-pack, and I already have buyer's remorse. Certainly a bad attempt at an imperial IPA, and Lagunitas Sucks is available at a lower cost in the Louisiana market so I'm not sure why this is selling to anyone except chumps like me who try to give smaller breweries chances (even when they routinely put out mediocrity like this).
I'd advise anyone reading this to pass on this beer.
Low C- (2.53) / BELOW AVERAGE
***
10/20/19 2nd chance (another can from the same 4 pack):
Cool and coating on the palate, but the hop profile is rubbish - and considering the style, that's the death knell.
Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
10/23/19 CAN:
A bit pulpy. Hop profile is woefully lacklustre for an imperial IPA brewed in 2019.
Drinkable though.
C- / BELOW AVERAGE
Oct 19, 2019"Double India Pale Ale." No ABV listed on the can. Has tawdry label art.
From their website:
STYLE: Double India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%
FERMENTABLES: 2 Row, Malted Barley, Wheat, Oats
HOPS: Cascade, dry-hopped with Citra® & Vic Secret™
7.5% and they're calling it an imperial IPA. Lagunitas calls their 7.2% Born Yesterday a Pale Ale. What an odd world we live in.
Appearance is dull, with a murky dirty copper body that lacks any vibrance whatsoever. Head is frothy and off-white...not particularly creamy, robust, or otherwise remarkable.
Aroma hints at depleted tropical fruit. Dried passionfruit, papaya, stale guava, boozy pineapple, mango that's been sitting out in the sun...this doesn't suggest a great hop profile. Caramalt seems present but unnecessary judging by the sweetness indicated by the aroma...why not go with just pale malt/2-row?
T/Mf: Hop profile isn't great...lots of stale/warm tropical fruit notes that don't harmonize or synergize to form anything of interest. Caramalt (or maybe it's crystal?) injects additional malt sweetness where it isn't need, throwing an already minimally bitter ostensible IIPA further out of balance. The warm pineapple at the heart of its hop profile is quite unpleasant.
Unrefreshing. Medium-bodied. Coating. A bit sticky. Smooth. Wet. Has a subpar presence on the palate overall, but at least it's well-carbonated.
OVERALL: A mediocre and overpriced attempt at an imperial IPA from Gnarly Barley. The hop profile is downright mundane...I don't really see what they were going for. Fails to showcase either Cascade or Citra well to any extent (drink Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, Kern River's Citra, then this, and you'll see how badly this is brewed), so I guess the hop profile is mainly Vic Secret...which would indicate most of their hop flavour is coming from dry-hopping (which I thought was primarily for aroma, but I'm not a pro brewer).
I mean it's not awful; I can definitely drink it. But I don't look forward to the other 3 cans from my 4-pack, and I already have buyer's remorse. Certainly a bad attempt at an imperial IPA, and Lagunitas Sucks is available at a lower cost in the Louisiana market so I'm not sure why this is selling to anyone except chumps like me who try to give smaller breweries chances (even when they routinely put out mediocrity like this).
I'd advise anyone reading this to pass on this beer.
Low C- (2.53) / BELOW AVERAGE
***
10/20/19 2nd chance (another can from the same 4 pack):
Cool and coating on the palate, but the hop profile is rubbish - and considering the style, that's the death knell.
Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
10/23/19 CAN:
A bit pulpy. Hop profile is woefully lacklustre for an imperial IPA brewed in 2019.
Drinkable though.
C- / BELOW AVERAGE
Reviewed by Best_Enjoyed_In_Texas from Texas
4.55/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.55/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Nice orange, opaque coloring consistent throughout with a soft white head. After primary head recesses, a thin white line is left. Solid head retention.
Taste is heavy pineapple. Citra hops are very present. Smell is exceptional for the style. Overall a fine example of the style.
May 25, 2018Taste is heavy pineapple. Citra hops are very present. Smell is exceptional for the style. Overall a fine example of the style.
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