Strictly Illegal
Lupulin Brewing

Canned March 8th 2021.

Pours a not quite clear gold, or is it a combination of gold and orange? The foam is big initially but it stays and stays though at a reduced level.

Big tropical fruit nose with loads of malt. Caramel, yeah, but the sweetness seems to not interfere with that hoppy fruitiness.

The taste IS malty but also massively fruity from the hops. Somewhat bitter, malty sweet, dank as hell, alcohol is there from the obvious warming but I would refrain from calling it hot. A few more sips could change that perception. Imho, this more resembles Dogfish Head 120 than say Moylan's Hopsickle. Shrugs.

Full bodied with adequate carbonation.

Good stuff. 3 more cans to go.

 

Pours a bright but cloudy orangish gold with a huge long lasting white head. Great lacing. Aroma is full of tropical fruit. Flavor is honey, tropical fruit, and a hint of pine. Feel is syrupy but has adequate carbonation. Overall this is another wow beer from this local brewery.

Medium amber colored body; lively carbonation; looks like some very fine particulates dancing around the bottom of the glass; fairly thin yet lasting head. Dank and pine-like aroma. Dull sweetness and pine resin flavors closely followed with an intense hop bitterness and huge phenolic presence; boozy; very herbal; licorice. Heavy body; velvety and resinous; hot and boozy.

This is a big beer, an intense beer, a brutish beer.The looks are phenomenal for a high ABV beer with a pretty good, long lasting head. The smell also pulls you in. Then the taste and mouthfeel come into play. While generally good, the intensity and boldness come across a bit too over-the-top and a bit harsh. Too sweet, and too boozy primarily. Still, it is a triple IPA...

Can bottom data: #ILL3 CANNED 03/08/21, poured at 63° F.

16oz can from Tavour. Dark golden, cloudy, skin of head, rings of lacing. Big noseful of dank starts it off. Earthy, weedy, citrus peel. Taste is sweet and brings a lot of alcohol heat. This beer requires a bit of effort. But it's worth the work...

 

A bit too harsh for my taste, but it definitely packs a punch that’s tasty!

From the bottom of the can: "#ILL3 CANNED 03/28/21"

Appearance: The body of the beer is hazy and gold colored, with darker shades towards the center and slightly lighter ones towards the edge. the head is large, thick, rocky, fluffy, and white. It has craters of different sizes across the surface of the beer. The head has great formation, retention, and it leaves a nice sheet of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: There is a wildflower aroma to the beer with a sweet-smelling caramel aroma. A light bit of pine and lemon zest are in the background from time to time as well.

Taste: Up front there is pine and soapy floral flavor. Towards the middle of the mouth there is an overly sweet candy-like flavor mixed with muted caramel, rosewater, and potpourri. It's not the most appealing of flavors but it is strongly flavored. The aftertaste is like pine but more mellow.

Mouthfeel: It has a thick, medium body, with a strongly bitter backbone. It is a slow-sipping beer because of how sweet and thick it is. It feels under-attenuated and unfinished.

Overall: The beer seems to have been brewed this way on purpose given the colorful text on the can, however it alludes to the amount of hops put in the beer and not how sweet or how thick it feels on the palate. Although the hop selection focuses more on the floral variety, the beer as a whole is thick and sickly sweet. It's a difficult beer to drink because the palate is bombarded with this floral and sugary mess. I don't recommend it and I wouldn't drink it again.

 

 

Amber in color. Opaque without being hazy. Head was a little less than what I expected, some of which may be due to the high (11%) ABV. A really nice thin layer & ring remained long after the pour. Aroma is bright and tropical. While it doesn't come out of the glass in waves, up close it smells really nice. On the tongue, pine flavors overtake the floral notes from the nose. You can tell this packs a punch, but without the booze overwhelming the palate. Goes down quite smoothly for the ABV. Gets better with each sip.

if you like hoppy beers this one is for you - hoppy flavors in every sip great hop after taste

Pours a hazy light rust color with a nice fluffy eggshell head. Smell is tropical with oranges,melon and papaya. Taste is fruit forward topical with the addition of berries toffee,and some dark fruit and pine resin. Mouth feel is thick ,malty with sweet caramel and pine hops,has some barley wine features ABV well hidden reminiscent of Double Crooked Tree.

 

 

Lupulin Strictly Illegal Triple IPA, 11% ABV. Pours cloudy dark orange, with a four-finger off-white head that left foamy lacing. Nose is tropical fruits, oranges, toffee, pine, some zest. Taste is orange, toffee/caramel, berries, pine, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Booze wasn't obvious, which could be dangerous at 11%. Smooth mouthfeel, overall outstanding. One of the best DIPAs I've had.

 

16 oz can, Canned on 3/5/20, ploughshare glass.

Has a dark caramel tea color with a buttery head of 3 fingers, leaving tons of lace behind destroying the glass, evidence of massive hop overload.

Aroma is bright, fruity, and floral, with notes of caramel intertwined. It's like a mix between an IPA and a scotch ale. I'd specify persimmon, papaya, cantaloupe, grapefruit, vanilla, and caramel here.

Flavor snaps like a Barleywine and brings some heavy pine, caramel, pineapple, grapefruit, strawberry, and papaya. It's very fruity, with balanced floral/pine notes, with sweet caramel and doughy rolls. Drinks unbelievably easy for an 11.5% IPA.

Feel is slick and oily, sticky/syrupy, with some creaminess and lots of resins.

Overall, much like a fruited Barleywine, it executes nicely. It is heavy handed in the caramel department though, but never gets overwhelming or cloying. In fact if you were to age some I'm sure it would turn out much like DFH's 120 Minute. It's just a lovely sticky mess of malt and hops, and is huge in every way possible.

Edit : I had to update my scores. This was thoroughly enjoyable. I was expecting a juicy IIPA, so I think I gave it a lower score like 5 minutes ago. But for what it is, there's some real talent here, and yeah it kicks ass.

Price paid : $15.99 / 4 pack
Would buy again : Absolutely.


Edit : Had a can yesterday (8/2/20) from 3/5/20 and it only gets smoother. This beer is fantastic and Lupulin's best.

This beer pours a mostly opaque orange with a large fluffy head. The aroma is rich with peaches, red apple, and tangerine. The flavor is rich and sweet, with loads of peach and apricot, mango, cantaloupe, anda touch of burnt sugar. The mouthfeel is thick and almost syrupy, with sudsy carbonation. Overall a bit too sweet, put with pleasant flavors.