Double Dry Hopped IPA
Rentsch Brewery

tallboy with bb date 3/30/21; today is 2/6. has a "citrus juicy" label under the DDH IPA announcement.

pours a hazy mellow straw yellow gold body with a very excited billowing chalk white head with big bubbles that floats up and back down to about a finger within the inside of a minute before finally forming a rocky halo around a clear cap. a few sudsy lacing legs stick around. the head response demands a patient pour and almost immediately takes up the majority of the glass.

floral and grassy hop aroma that hits on a somewhat underwhelming level honestly, which is a bit of a drag for a "double dry hopped" labelled jam. honeyed malt backbone. orange and lemon citrus zest peppered throughout. also, yeast? first time really noticing yeast on an IPA that wasn't decidedly Belgian. it's got a peppery zing to it that rides on the back of the orange and lemon notes. kinda funky.

the yeast notes pick up even more in the taste. wild. grassy and floral hops are there for sure, but are about the same level as the aroma, along with familiar citrus zest, but then that yeast kicks in to make it interesting. hits a near-metallic note around the edges.

mouthfeel is high carbonation and medium body. goes smooth with a few carbo prickles and finishes slightly dry.

overall:
this one was interesting but not entirely awesome. the hop elements were underwhelming, even in the aroma, which was disappointing because of the "double dry hopped" labelling. oddly enough, the yeasty shades made the headlines with this one. it was quite citrusy, but it felt far from juicy. it was more along the lines of a grassy hop with orange and lemon shades than anything. but then that peppery madness kicks in. it did grow on me in the 4th quarter, but it's still not juicy and barely seems dry hopped. still, it is pretty good.

 

Appearance: Head takes up 75% of the glass, a murky yellow body waiting patiently under it.

Aroma: Big floral note, little malt comes through later in the glass.

Taste: Clean orange peel, hard candy sugar, a little twang of metallic something in the finish, but it was hard to parse out. Mostly it's just yummy.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, low carbonation after all the dramatics of the head. Slightly dry finish.

Overall: Yum. Hoppy, but not bitter, which is to style. Pretty clean. Nothing to look at but the flavor is pretty dang good.

 

Rentsch boards the hype train with this 500ml can of the latest fad gimmick double dry-hopping. Cost is $3.57 per 500ml can, so one can see why Rentsch wanted aboard...those margins are insane. If the double dry hopping gimmickry didn't set off my skepticism, the loud neon pink and green label art definitely would have. Oh well, let's give it a fair shot.

Sidebar: we all do know that dry hopping is just for aroma, right? Right? Hello?

"IPA." "Ale. No ABV appears on the can. Best before: 06/28/18.

HEAD: Occupies ~75% of my glass, receding fully within 6 minutes. Pretty standard in terms of the style: off-white in colour, moderately creamy, somewhat frothy, kind of soft...there's room for improvement.

BODY: Clear copper colour of average vibrance. Not the turbid appearance those who buy these overpriced 500ml cans of double dry hopped IPAs usually look for, which is fine by me. No yeast/lees are visible within.

It's an average overall appearance for the style. Looks well-carbonated.

AROMA: Bubblegum phenol is evident, indicating ale yeast. Hop profile is pretty standard: floral aromatics plus fruit: mango, tangerine, pineapple, guava, Has an obvious tropical bend. Pale malt sweetness seems to be taming any bitterness based on the aroma.

Suggests a beer of limited hop pungency and limited depth of flavour. Hop profile seems above average at best.

Aromatic intensity is average. I detect no off-notes or booziness.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Hop pungency is indeed limited, leaving this drinking more like a pale ale. Bubblegum, floral hop flavours, subdued mango, subdued tangerine, subdued pineapple, subdued guava. Candied tropical fruit is the emphasis here, and that's not great in an IPA. Hop profile is wanting overall. Where's the pungency? The concomitant hop bitterness? At least there's no lactose sugar or other adjunct garbage in here.

Not piney, juicy, citrusy, grapefruity, resinous, or oily in terms of hops.

Pale malts lend this its simplistic backbone. I wouldn't be surprised if there was crystal in the grain bill as well.

Fails fundamentally inasmuch as the goal of an IPA is to stand out amongst the myriad contemporary expressions of the style, showcase hops in an interesting and/or effective way, and/or temper hop bitterness with adequate pale malt. Drinks like a pale ale, though the likes of Zombie Dust, Alpine-brewed Alpine Ale, and even Lagunitas' pale ales probably have more hop pungency and more interesting hop profiles.

Smooth, wet, mellow, approachable, medium-bodied, well-carbonated. Not oily, astringent, gushed, hot, boozy, harsh, scratchy, or otherwise problematic.

OVERALL: My alarm bells were ringing as soon as I saw the price/format and label design, not to mention the double dry hopped marketing gimmick, but I went ahead and gave this a fair shake anyway. I'm not happy I did; the result is an overpriced brew that doesn't drink like the intended style and seems like a cash-grab effort. Oh well; fuck me - I bought it and helped Rentsch ride that double dry hopped marketing wave.

When are we going to banish this $3+ 500ml can format for IPAs for good? $3.57 USD per 500ml can equates to ~$15 per sixer, and that price is on the low end of this atrocious anticonsumer trend. (Remember when American craft beer fans used to shy away from Sculpin for its ~$15 per sixer price? And Sculpin is actually quite good...)

C+ (3.06) / ABOVE AVERAGE