Decade India Pale Ale
Big Time Brewery & Alehouse

 

 

I had a weekend in Seattle in July of 09. I was able to make it to two brewpubs and found Big Time to be a great spot in the U district. This would be my study hall if I went to school at the U.

We were very lucky to show up just as a new cask of the Decade IPA was being poured. Locals had befriended us we we found ourselves the recipients of Free Beer as they were running the lines. We were assured that what we were tasting was the real deal and they were right. This beer is strong and full of flavor. the head was exactly what you would look for in a cask. I lingered for several minutes and left a beautiful lace around the glass.

By the time I had one I was already well on my way. That said I still don't think I could make it through more that 2 of these in a session.

Cloudy, dark orange in appearance, with a very thin off-white head. Juicy, slightly sweet orangey aroma. This comes through in the flavor as well, with a very light toffee malt body, and a slightly spicy finish yielding to a gentle toastiness in the aftertaste. Crisp in body and fairly dry in the mouth. Tasty!

Hazy Tagerine.

Vibrant centennial and cascade hops provide piney,citrusy, grassy notes to the nose.

The malt profile is pretty sweet, showscase biscuits and caramel. The hop bitterness is fairly harsh but balances nice and provides notes of wood, pine, lemon and tangerine. Left Coast hoppiness as its best. Nicely done.

Appearance – The beer itself is very thick and hazy. It is a beautiful brownish-orange (mostly orange) and topped with a nice, pitting, slightly orange head.

Smell – The citrus and grapefruit notes here are mixed with pinesap and are smooth, smooth, and more smooth. There is no sharpness or tangy feel to this nose. There’s also a little malt balance to keep things right.

Taste – I see the beer’s sharpness was reserved for the taste. This is a shock to the senses, that’s for sure. The chewy malt and sticky caramel are reminiscent of the more balanced East Coast IPAs. The big orange flavor is rindy and very strong, yet not “stingy” or “tangy”.

All around, this is a very complex and satisfying flavor profile complimented with some good spicing. I was picking up mostly pepper and some green herb, like maybe parsley or bitter collard green notes.

Mouthfeel – Lightly carbonated and big in the mouth. I’m going to call this one smack dab in between medium and full. The orangy notes are extremely bitter as well. This Double IPA just explodes in your mouth.

Drinkability – I can’t believe this came from Seattle. It is very different that most of our efforts at the style. I LOVE PacNW IPAs, but this one brings a sense of refinement to the table that’s often missing from the local varieties. Well done, Big Time.

Comments – Much mellower on-tap. This beer is still smooth by any definition of the word, but definitely bigger in the bottle.

Update – I originally reviewed this with a 2004 vintage so thought it would be fun to revisit with an ’05. “Big and smooth” really does accurately describe this baby both in the nose and at the tongue, although the hops are a bit bigger than I remember. A solid, extremely drinkable ADIPA that totally deserves the perfect 5.0 rating that I gave it for MF.