Boatswain Double IPA (Twin Screw Steamer)
Minhas Craft Brewery

 

Meh. Slightly metallic taste. Sweet with good amount of hops. Would not get again.

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden orange color with a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled of roasted malt, caramel and citrus. This tasted very off. Musty, overly malty and unbalanced.

 

Haters gonna hate, but I like it. Below, a review I copy/pasted from a review by nateive earlier in this thread, which I endorse. Fair warning: for something calling itself an IPA, Boatswain is very, very malty. To me (no expert) it tastes almost like a strong, bitter, porter. If you don't like malty brews, stay away. It reminds me of a DIPA from a local brewpub: 'Islander,' from Offshore Ale on Martha's Vineyard, MA. To me Boatswain looks great, smells OK although pretty sweet, tastes great, and has excellent 'mouthfeel' — substantial & carbonated, not thick & viscous like some porters & stouts. And for a beer with an ABV of 8.4, I don't think it tastes boozy at all.

Nateive compared Boatswain Double IPA to Arrogant Bastard, which I think is a fair comparison. It's been years since I tasted A.B. so my memory may be playing tricks on me, but right now, given the choice, I would take a second Boatswain over an Arrogant Bastard, a beer that I think lives up to its name: it just hits you over the head with its boldness & rule-breaking. I like Arrogant Bastard pretty much, but not enough to go looking for it. But next time I'm in Trader Joe's I'll pick up another 6-pack of Boatswain.

nateive's review follows:

++++++++++++++++++++


It reminds me of a less bitter, less complex version of arrogant bastard, which I truly love. I would also compare this to a winter warmer, another style I enjoy. I think arrogant bastard used special B malt, which I don't detect in this beer. It is very malt with some pleasant bitterness in the aftertaste. I would buy this again. Trader Joe's sells this for a fantastic price for a 6 pack. This is not a hazy or juicy dipa.

Best by 2026 day 231
Pours a foamy frothy 1/2 finger head with good retention, sticky lacing, slight hazy orange to copper color

Nose fair sweet malts with caramel and toasted biscuity copper malt, hops bringing herbal earthy, a little fruity, weird vegetal as well

Taste starts with the sweet malts again, caramel and biscuity toasted cereal malt, molasses even, a touch of alcohol, fair hops with mild fruity notes, herbal earthy mostly, a little spicy late, semi sweet finish with a bit more hops, med bitterness throughout

Mouth is med bod, med to a bit higher frothy carb

Overall eh, not terrible but nothing special, like a home brewer's first DIPA with no real direction and being done quite sloppy

Two single cans from Trader Joe's

 

Ahh yes, the infamous 8.4% ABV $1.00 can of so-called double IPA from Trader Joe's, thanks to our friends at Minhas crass brewery. For starters, it gets the job done quite well, if all you are looking for is a cheap buzz. You definitely get what you pay for.

12 oz. can pours a murky brownish orange under a two-finger off-white head that actually leaves good lacing. That is the good part. It reeks of Minhas' well-known phenolic chemistry lab. Aroma has old vegetables, brown sugar and molasses. Taste is sweet. Body is medium to full with an oily mouthfeel and mediocre carbonation. It gets worse as it warms up, but you can't drink it too fast, either.

Despite my rating, I buy a six pack of this beer every time I visit Trader Joe's (4 or 5 times a year). I watch a movie directed by Ed Wood just as often. Both of them are so cheap and so bad that they are perversely enjoyable.

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours red orange with a fluffy white head. Smells of sweet grain, not much else. Tastes of sweet grain with some hints of citrus. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a good beer.

Poured from a 12oz can into an IPA glass. Color is dark amber with a 1-finger head that dissipates into a coating. Aroma is malty, nothing like I expected a DIPA to be. Taste, to me, was more like a Lager although slightly more bitter. Lightly carbonated, almost smooth on the tongue. Overall, probably a one-and-done for me.

Looks good. Smells good. Taste is thin and almost watery. Not bad at all though.

 

It’s a nice cute amber color and carbonation is good too. Head retention is pretty good. The only thing is the aroma. It’s just like sweet molasses. got a nice pinecone, bittersweet kick!

 

Sure is pretty. Amber in hue with a milky off white head that rises over a finger high and then slowly settles to thin cap.
Nose starts off with a heavy malt presence. Like a deep, fruity, malty double Irish red. A mild grassy hop note finally chimes in.
Flavor is, again, malt forward with some grassy, slightly citrusy and piney, and grain notes. for a double, not bad.

Poured from a 12 oz can.

I think this beer misses the mark as a double IPA, but it has much that is enjoyable and I do like it. It is very dark gold to light amber and just a bit hazy, with a huge, fluffy off-white head. The aroma is not great, just malty and with a light cardboard note that says it must be slightly oxidized. The flavors are initially sweet, with brown sugar and bready malt. Then some citrus and pine hops lighten things later in the palate. Fairly thick body and some mouthcoating sweetness, but not cloying. Full, creamy carbonation. Moderate to strong hops bitterness and surprisingly light alcohol presence for the ABV. Again, it has some flaws for the style that are actually fine if you take it as a simple, tasty beer and not a double IPA.

 

This is a lot tastier than many of the reviews give it credit for. Yes, it’s true, it does miss the mark in terms of being a DIPA. If one looks at it more like a craft beer malt liquor, though, or a cheap, brown sugaryish, black licorice-y, quasi-barely wine, ehh... I don’t know... seems pretty dang good to me. It actually wears better, too, than a whole bunch of craft beers that cost twice as much. This could be blasphemous for me to say, but I probably prefer this over Dogfishhead 90 Minute, even if there is a bit of an off vinegary note in the flavor. Um, is it possible that people are simply being too fussy in how they’re rating this? Or am I not being fussy enough? Hmm, I’m gonna go with the former for now. Cheers!