Double Double (Black Label)
BKS Artisan Ales

(review from December 2023) Another great 2x NE DD from BKS w/the usual thick haze;good balance/mouthfeel;nice hoppy bite & an incredibly smooth fooler of an 8.5%er&dangerously quaffable.This iteration with a subdued,complex floral/citrusy/slightly grassy-grainyish-hard-to-pin-down flavor plus a lingering, strong-ish backend that sneaks up on you.

 

16oz tallboy poured into HF white logo Durobar Charente(wine stem glass).

No canned on date that I can find.

Appearance: Hazy golden yellow with an orange hue. Massive bone white head that has great staying power and slowly drops down into an uneven chunky yet still dense foamy / soapy looking head. Lacing is everywhere.

Smell: This smells of fairly "green" hops, but not quite at that full on dankness note. Tangerines and topical notes. Smells pretty nice.

Taste: retrained bitterness like most hazies without having that huge juicy factor. Getting a dominate tropical vibe here of mango and papayas. Notes of tangerine sweet citrus notes meld nicely to the big tropical fruits. Overall, the tropical flavors are the dominate flavors that expresses the most flavors found in the IPA. Finishes with delicate floral bitterness with a light citrusy note of grapefruit zest which is a nice finish here to compliment of the main flavors of this IPA. Long after each sip you get a lingering note of papaya, grapefruit, and a barely there note of pine finally pops out to say hello for the first time. Very light restrained bitterness from start to finish.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied hazy. Low medium level carbonation. Soft body. Very smooth flavors and the drinkablilty is very high with this IPA, but it has a thinner texture than most hazy hoppy beers. I think this plays well with the flavors of this IPA and it might be part of the reason the juice factor is a little lower than most. Finish is lightly dry.

Overall: I am just going to say these are some great hazy hops from a brewery that I had never heard of. I am a bit burnt out on hops these days, so it has got to be really good IPA to keep my interest. This beer succeeds in that task. I would compare this brewery in quality nearing a narrow gauge status. So in other words, they are probably in the top 15% of breweries doing hazy hops the right way. You can tell this is a small batch brewery producing high quality craft beer for sure.

Pours a bright orange with yellow around the edges for a sunburst effect. Head is a finger of off-white foam. Aroma is papaya and tangerine for a citrus bomb. Light grassy hops add a little dimension, but really it focuses on a couple tropical fruits and hits those notes well. Flavor profile is papaya, grapefruit, and tangerine with mild grassy hops at the close. Tropical fruits are sweet with a little of that grapefruit tartness, but not enough to keep this beer from being sweet. Mouth feel is creamy with light pulp, at least initially. Thickness is medium. Overall, a big citrus bomb IPA that focuses on a handful of notes and not a shotgun blast of descriptors.

Draft. Reviewed from notes.

This BKS Double Double variant pours an opaque gold, with a moderate head. Lots of delicate lacing. The aroma has green pepper and grapefruit.

The taste of this beer starts out with some orange juice and a hint of bubblegum. The citrus-backed bitterness comes in shortly afterwards.

Can purchased from the brewery 11/27/2020.