I Like It Bitter
Brussels Beer Project

Deep amber and slightly murky from the bottle, this DIPA is a bit dull in appearance when compared to many of its popular counterparts. Lots of sediment. Similarly, the aroma is on the muted side, even after some warming, and lacks some of the fruity character of the advertised hops: Mosaic and Equinox. Blueberry comes through to a degree though, as does a woodsy, piney quality and a whiff of sweetness. The taste harkens back to earlier versions of the style, with an emphasis on bitterness over flavor. Resin, alcohol heat, and pale malt stand out from the background before fading back into a lingering, rather bitter finish. More balance would be welcome. Perhaps it's better fresh and/or on draft?

330ml bottle poured into a teku glass.

Hazy deep copper color with lots of sediment, it tops with a finger of creamy off-white head that clings for a while before gradually sinking to some long-lasting foamy patch along the rim and leaving some lacing patch and spot on the glass-side.

It tends to be quite gentle and mellow in a nose with no fruity or juicy hop bombardment. Instead, it harmoniously provides the aromas of citrus, passion fruit, spice, pine, and resin from hop together with some fruity ester from yeast. There is an obvious trail of malt with notes of bread and sweet caramel.

It kicks off with hop flavors of citrus, passion fruit, spice, pine, resin, and solid grassy bitterness but it doesn’t feel so sharp or pungent being leveraged by its rich malt bill of sweet caramel and bread (precisely from the Pale and Caramunich). Fruity ester adds some dimension to the flavor structure in the middle while the end and aftertaste is lasting well with hop bitter bite. Overall, it is not overly hoppy and is rather balance.

The body is medium with smooth mouthfeel and some good crispness of moderate carbonation. The feeling is lively and refreshing with a pleasantly dry finish.

100IBU is only just a number as it is pretty easy to drink and tasty with all the well-rounded balance between hop, malt, and yeast. Alcohol is also perfectly concealed.

 

Bottled and possibly bottle conditioned
Slightly hazy golden body with frothy white head that submission to let some liquid peak through the surface
Slightly funky slightly citrus aroma