Hopnoxious DIPA (Gin Barrel Aged)
Sockeye Grill & Brewery

i love hoppy beer in gin barrels, we dont really see enough of that. they have this one flowing now over at their new spot, and its a beast, boozy to start with it seems, and made even more intense by the gin, but quite a dynamic and flavorful brew. i was surprised to see it come out brick red and unclear, i have not had the base beer and have no idea if its malty, but this version certainly is, heavy and sweet alike, but i think the extra grain character is needed for balance, of which this somehow has, enormous as it is. the gin is strong in the nose, spicy fresh juniper and oak to me, subtle white wine, lots of pine bitterness from the hops, and then the baked richer malt base, lots going on but all in nice harmony. the alcohol is strong in the aroma and the flavor, but it seems to extract a lot of hop and gin character, which are paired together well in this beer. although to me, even though the hops are robust in terms of bitterness, they arent that flavorful or unique, and its the gin character that i like best here. the malt is a lot, but again its needed in a beer this boozy. some cakey sweetness to it and an earthy toasted aspect as well. good freshness to the gin, the wood smooths it out a bit, and the hop bitterness is strong on the palate. carbonation is a little light and this gets hot in a hurry, but a cool gin barrel aged beer for sure. i have been digging the wood ages stuff from sockeye, they dont get enough credit for this part of what they do...

Very hazy light brown... Thin white head.. No retention or lacing... Nose shows big bitterness/still balanced maltiness.. but little in the way of gin botanicals or barrel aging.. very flimsy brew... I guess I see what was going on here, hoppy but nothing that would take away from the original DIPA, still this doesn't seem like a DIPA at all.. and certainly doesn't exhibit enough BA character to jump up the queue.. Only okay.

3.25/3.5/3.5/3.25/3.5