Bellcracker Double IPA
2SP Brewing Company

 

Draft at brewery. Aroma seems subdued at first, but offers a wonderful bouquet of hops and pine. Silky smooth mouth feel. Hops bite the tongue before melting into your mouth. Extremely smooth for an IIPA. Late warmth creeps in too. Nice.

Really good beer from a really good outfit... Not at the level of "The Russian" but definitely super solid.
L: very clear, lightly burnt orange with a nice head that sticks around
S: definite strong point. tropical fruit, sweet and rich
T: very good. doesn't quite deliver on the smell but it's good. has a bitter end note that seems out of balance
F: nice and smooth
O: a worthy offering from 2SP!

 

Take Your Pils With A New Beer, We're Heading to Media, PA This Sunday (Week 752)!, turned out to be quite the day! I really thought . at the outset, that both Sterling Pig & 2SP were in Media, PA. I flitted between the two all day with the penultimate CANming as I ate the pig, beginning with its Suffler! It seems fitting that I wrap up (for now) with an AIIPA from 2SP. After this, I still have a number of 2SP beers to drink, review & rate, but I am running low on stamina.

From the CAN: "Everything we CAN't drink we CAN."

With all of the lightning bolts and energy radiating from this CAN, I was kind of hesitant to see what might be unleashed on the Crack! I am stout of heart, mind, body & soul, if not beer & so I proceeded. BOOM! Sure as s**t, I got my Bell rung on the Crack! Well, now. I retaliated with an inverted C-Line Glug to remind it who was boss. Apparently, it was sinc it foamed up to form two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with excellent retention. I wondered who was expected to clean up the sticky lacing that it left in its wake. Color was a hazy solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9). Nose smelled like wintergreen & caramel! I think that some of my nose hairs may have just burnt away. Mouthfeel was big, thick & full, like a dollop had been ladled onto my tongue! It took me a moent ro two to regain my bearings as it quickly set to work, jackhammering any and all loose, weak and/or dying/dead taste buds that got in its way. I broke out in a sweat as my eyes watered unCANtrollably. This was the grand finale?!? It was not simply going to put me to sleep, it was looking to send me to the Big Sleep! My heart beCAN to try and escape from the cage in which it was CANfined & I wondered why everything looked so topsy-turvy until I realized that I was on a heavy starboard list, about to keel over! I righted my ship & took stock. This was one big beer, having CAN in like a missile, striking amidships. The alcohol heat did the initial damage, followed by the blossoming pine/wintergreen/spearmint coolness that led to a caramel finish, just enough to lull me into a false sense of seCANtity as the next missile hit! I rocked back in my Captain's chair in the realization that I was not CANming back from this one! I had a doctor's appointment in the morning & if I did not give up (& quickly), I was not going to make it. Finish had a pleasant warmth that suffused my whole body, followed by a cool mintiness that just left me bereft. Done, I tell you! Done. YMMV.

Very good beer overall imo, but one weird thing was that all of the cans in my 4 pack had floaties in the beer. Like it wasn't the typical yeast look, but had a look almost like you get when something is going bad. The beer tastes really good, and I don't think it was actually going bad, but it was just weird to see that stuff. If I could I'd post a pic so you'd know what I'm talking about. :/

Anyway, love the beer.

Look: Hazy amber with a big, rocky, creamy, cream-colored head. Lots of large floaties.
Smell: Very fruity, predominately mango and grapefruit. A bit of pine hope aroma.
Taste: Fruity, malty sweetness balanced with a pleasant hop bitterness. Herbal hop finish.
Feel: Medium/thick-bodied. Creamy and mouth-coating.
Overall: This is a delicious hazy IPA. The sweetness is really cranked up, but it's well-balanced with bitterness.

 

 

 

There's a cloying sweetness to this beer that really turns me off.

 

-can.
A: Hazy orange with lots of macro-floaties and protein supplements abound. The carbonation is light while the head rapidly formed on the pour, forming a pillowy 3+ finger foam structure, full of voids. Sticky and well lasting lacing adores the vessel with a strong cohesion. Love the suspended goodies.

S: Sweet green fruit of melon and cantaloupe are first on the nose. Strong backing of citrus and strong lime accents. Seems like I am picking up a lot of beers lately with strong lime hopping. Spicy, almost tequila like alcohol notes gives this an very different and unique aroma.

T: The flavor followed the nose with strong citrusy-lime hops, wet and dripping with resins. Lime-citrus hops with a light cracker malt backing. Spicy lime alcohol and spicy breadiness.

M: Light bodied beer, slippery texture and a light dose of carbonation. Easy feel.

O: A different and unique hop experience, seems to be heavily lime accents from what I picked up on. Spicy tequila like lime alcohol, spicy hops and light malting brings an easy consumption with a different perspective.

 

 

2SP Brewing Co. "Bellcracker"
12 fl. oz. can, coded "09/08/17 12:51:37 365-366"
$2.49 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: 8.7%, eh? Perhaps this is a "bell cracker". It's a hazy golden amber with plenty of large chunks floating around in it. Is this old? Ah, yes, I'd say so. I'll assume the code on the can is the packaging date and time, so it's almost 6 months old. Still, that much heavy sediment isn't good. The head is a creamy white, and seems to be holding up fairly well. It was short to begin with, and it's dropped, but it's still got a solid surface covering and there's beautiful solid lace where the head used to be. On to the aroma... it's nice. I'm getting a blend of citrus, pineapple, light pine, and sweetish biscuity malt. It's not the boldest, but it's good enough, and I'll chalk that up to age. I'll try to find a fresher can and re-review if I think it's warranted. Hmmm... the flavor follows, similar in character, and again, the hops are not that bold but they work. It's nicely balanced between malt and tropical/citrusy flavors. A restrained, stiff bitterness balances it and leaves just enough sweet malt in the finish. Some double IPAs are just a little to sugary in the end but that's not the case here. With that said, it's not too full bodied or malty either. I'd call it medium with a dextrinous edge, and a moderate, fine-bubbled carbonation lends it just a delicate bristle before becoming softer and smoother across the palate. Overall, nicely done, although it lacks a certain intangible something that could elevate it to wonderful. Still, it's certainly worth trying.

 

 

Appearance: orange in color with a 1/2" head that falls quickly to a big bubbled foam.

Smell: citrus and pine are picked up by the nose.

Taste: caramel, grapefruit, lemon zest, pine, and some earthy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Crisp to start, less crisp at the finish.

Overall: a decent DIPA that anyone will enjoy.