Double Deuce
Stickman Brews

 

Stickman Brews "Double Deuce"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$4.50 @ Kunda Beverage, King of Prussia, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: A cloudy golden-orange body is capped by a two finger thick head of white foam. The aroma is tropical/citrusy but without any particular fruit being clear as to what it is. Forced to name something I'd go with orange and grapefruit. On to the taste... it remains very fruity but somehow nondistinct; very weird. I get a lot of apple but the citrus is unclear. I'm thinking there's some papaya there, and orange and mango, but again, nothing is really clear. It's a little resinous but not piney, and not really "dank". The malt is sweet and grainy, a little bready, and wheaty. There's not a whole lot of bitterness going on and it finishes sweetish but not cloying. There is a touch of hop burn and/or alcohol that helps. How strong is this? 9.5%!!! Wow, it doesn't seem like it.In the mouth it's decidedly medium bodied and gently crisp. There are a lot of extra proteins in it that round it out and give it a seemingly fuller mouthfeel. It's a double IPA so I was expecting malt but perhaps not in this way. A little more hops would have brought it more into balance in my opinion, not that it's totally out of balance. All in all I like it but I feel it falls a little short of greatness. Maybe it falls a lot short. Still worthwhile.
Review #8,295

 

Appearance: a muddy tan; completely opaque
Nose: nothing but fruit; lots of grapefruit; maybe some mango
Taste: for fans of NEIPAs, this may be good; like have someone smash a grapefruit in your face and yell beer at you; that would be fine, but don't talk about how dank the beer is on the can if its really just a beer flavored fruit punch
Overall: Probably fine foe an NEIPA; but not what I was expecting from the description on the can

this one's a winner baby. find it, get it, enjoy it.
L: drinking from the can. it's a seriously funky can.
S; lots of sweet citrus and lemon. subtle pine backing
T: follows through on the nose. lemon. tangy, slightly bitter.
F; smooth and silky
O: what can i say - i like this one! it's a winner. give it a try.

I CANducted a brewery horizontal with these guys back in August to further The CANQuest (tm), but this one was not available to me at that time. I believe in CANpleteness for CANpleteness' sake so I was sure to pick this up during my biweekly visit to the Friendly Greek Bottle Shop (FGBS) when it came in.

From the CAN: "Double Deuce Double India Pale Ale"; "It's a Stickman. Just drink it."; "A little creative rendezvous between the brewers at Stickman and the folks at Hop Hedz. We've hopped this one out and made it extra dank and juicy for ya."; "A collaboration by Stickman Brews and HopHedzGear.com".

My Crack! of the vent unleashed some minor finger spritzing due to its being a brimful craft CAN. Undaunted, I CANtinued with a slow, steady C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. This, in turn, led to the formation of a massive two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, French Vanilla-colored head with very good retention. Color was a deeply-hazy Golden Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). This was not an unexpected phenomenon from these guys & such was the reason that I was gentle in my initial Glug. Nose was quite fruity, mainly tropical, but cut with a modicum of grapefruit. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach. The taste was oddly citrusy in that it had a more pronounced grapefruit flavor than on the nose, but coupled with a strange mango-guava flavor. Verrry interesting! Not great, but certainly interesting. It was not that the flavors were at odds with one CANother, but more like there was a janglyness to their coupling. They were certainly trying to make it work, but the execution was awkward.

It made me think of a hoppy equivalent of beastiality, like trying to make it with a willing duck, but unable to overcome her corkscrew or the guy in East Earl, putting it to several cows before getting caught. I'm not even sure that the cows noticed his (ahem!) presence.

Do not misapprehend me - it was not undrinkable. In fact, it was pretty darn good, but it just lacked a fusion of its flavors. My final, post-in-CAN swirl Glug turned it REALLY turbid & murky, which is what I was trying to avoid at the outset. It did not ChANge the flavor except to intensify it by a degree or so, making the uncoupled coupling all the more flagrant. Hmm. Finish was semi-dry & left me wondering how, if at all, it could be improved. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

Pale yellow with a murky, slightly milky, unfiltered appearance. Poured with a short, creamy, bright white foam with medium retention. Sweet fruity aromas with mellow grapefruit and lemon peel notes. Medium malty aroma beneath the fruitiness. Medium bodied with medium light carbonation. Soft, silky smooth feel through the middle with expanding boozy warmth to the end. Fruity and light pineapple flavors with over-ripe lemon and malty notes. Medium, tangy bitterness through the middle. Mellow fruity and sweet melon flavors on the back end with boozy notes beneath. Finished with malty and fruity notes followed by a touch of bitterness, boozy heat, and orange rind. Fruity and malty balanced by medium bitterness and booziness with a great silky feel.

 

A: The beer is very hazy yellow in color. It poured with a half finger high white head that has very good retention properties and hardly died down.
S: Light to moderate aromas of citrusy hops are present in the nose—limes seem to stand out in particular.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of lime citrus along hints of associated bitterness.
M: It feels mostly light-to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is exceptionally drinkable considering its strength and mangos to hide any traces of alcohol from the taste.

Serving type: can

A: Pours a murky medium golden yellow in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation and a moderate amount of active visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass and moderate amount of light golden + bright yellow colored highlights. The beer had a two finger tall dense sudsy foamy bright white head that quickly reduces to a large patch of thin film and a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate amounts of slightly sweet juicy tropical/mango + tropical/passionfruit + citrus/grapefruit hops over the top o moderate aromas of caramel + biscuit + wheat + oat malts with moderate amounts of caramel sweetness.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of caramel + biscuit + wheat + oat malts with moderate amounts of caramel sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of slightly sweet juicy tropical/mango + tropical/passionfruit + citrus/grapefruit hops which impart a light amount of bitterness in the finish which reduces quickly leaving a light lingering citrus hoppiness in the finish.

M: medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly crisp upfront with a light amount of dryness in the finish.

O:Easy to drink with very enjoyable hops flavors + aromas and a really easy to enjoy mouthfeel. Definitely worth grabbing and one I would have again. Alcohol is very well hidden.

 

 

 

From draft at Stickman. Pours a cloudy straw gold color with a modest head. Dank and fruit on the nose and palate. More sweet than bitter on the finish. Hides the high ABV well. Very nice DIPA.

 

on draft at the brewery

opaque, hazy yellow in color, thick bright white colored head. good head retention. huge fruity and dank hop aroma. taste is quite bitter, good balance with fruity hop flavors and the mild malt flavor. some wheat? nice mouthfeel.