Kensington
River's Edge Brewing Co

 

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 5/25/2018. Pours slightly hazy deep orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/zest, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and white bread; with light notes of pepper, pine, coconut, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Touch of booze in the aromas as it warmed, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of huge grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/zest, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and white bread; with light notes of pepper, pine, coconut, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, grassy bitterness; and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/zest, honey, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, white bread, light coconut/pepper/pine, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly sticky/tannic mouthfeel that is nice. Mildly increasing warmth of 10.5%, with no barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a delicious BBA DIPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. They went with a blend of new and aged hops, so really unique profile. Great balance of hops and malts; with perfect barrel integration. Not overly sweet, bitter, boozy, tannic, or drying. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Fairly similar to some other BBA DIPAs I've had in the past.