Shattercane DIPA
Danielmark's Brewing Company

this is massive beer, listed at 10% abv when i had it, essentially american barleywine at this point, brick red color and lots of body and bitter bite from the hops, which is even in front of its intense pine aroma and flavor, very northwestern and woodsy on the hops, but how much of this beer can anyone really drink? even a small glass would be a lot, but the beer has some really neat features. one thing i like is this little sugar hit in the middle, an almost confectionary sort of vibe, it helps the malt come forward to meet the hops and it comes in right where the hops begin to rise, so it kind of establishes a little balance before the very intensely hoppy finish. i also like the hop profile, this is the type of mix i like in something in this range, the newer school varietals do not hang as well in this context, and i like how its so intense without being green or harsh or really overdone or anything. the alcohol is present and sturdy here and that slows me down even more, but the flavors are nice and this reminds me of what was popular in the style long ago, like something stone would have done ten or more years ago. maybe subtly english on the fermentation, full flavored for sure, bitter at the end, and overall pretty solid, albeit extreme. proceed with caution.