Ballista Barrel IPA
Robin Hood Brewing Co. (Home D Pizzeria)

Gin barrel aged double IPA. Had on-tap at HomeD in State College.

L: Pours a deep semi-opaque golden color. Thick creamy white head. Nice retention.

S: Juniper berries (gin) and evergreen hops. Nice malts and grains.

T/F: This beer is delicious, and hands down the best I've had from Robin Hood. There's a nice gin presence... and the juniper berry flavor really complimented the evergreen and citrus of the hops. I don't know if I'd have been able to name it as gin unless I'd known it was barrel aged but the combo really works. All of it is built on a solid malt backbone which made for a fantastic (if short) session. Nice alcoholic warmth.

O: Just a fantastic gin barrel aged Imperial IPA and way exceeded my expectations for Robin Hood's stuff. I liked it enough to drag a friend and we didn't drink anything else that night. This is a strong ass-kicking kind of beer, and after 2 of them we were both feeling it. Sip carefully and enjoy.

Tremendous amount of gin on this beer - mixes pretty well with the classic IPA notes but in the end it is just a bit too heavy-handed to really be a homerun

 

This mad gin barrel experiment is a truly unique success. Although its dry hopped three times, it has one of the smoothest finishes of any DIPA I've had. I'm taking my growler back often.