Irresponsible
Highland Park Brewery

 

Type: 32-oz. crowler
Reviewed as: New England Triple / Imperial IPA
Glass: Pure Project 16-oz. snifter glass
Price: $11.00
From: Blind Lady Ale House in Normal Heights (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: July 29, 2020
Consumed: July 30, 2020
Misc.: Crowled on July 29, 2020

Picked this up at Blind Lady Ale House for a good price of $11 for a crowler. I’m a big fan of Highland Park and this one sounded delicious with an online description reading, “Our first ever Hazy Triple IPA. We got as Irresponsible as we could for this beer: massive amounts of hops we don’t have much access to (Nelson and Galaxy), 10% ABV with immense drinkability.” Also saw that Vic Secret was mentioned on Untappd review. Maybe my least favorite hop.

Poured a hazy gold color with two fingers of frothy white head. Could see a few bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. World-class spiderweb lacing. Outstanding retention. (Sight - 4.50)

Smelled Galaxy, Nelson, passion fruit, fruit punch, gooseberry, apricot, peach, melon and white grape notes. (Smell - 3.75)

Tasted a little better than the nose. Initially big booze, but settled down nicely. In order got passion fruit, fruit punch, gooseberry, apricot, peach, melon, pine, pineapple and grapefruit peel. Got all three mentioned hops, in order Galaxy, Vic Secret and Nelson. Fairly smooth for 10 pct. ABV. (Taste - 4.00)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Bitter finish. (Feel - 3.75)

Not as good as I hoped although I admittedly thought it was just Galaxy and Nelson, not Vic Secret. Still outstanding overall. (Overall - 4.00)

3.95 | 89 | B+

Can from lupulo Santa Cruz.
~2 wks old.
Look: orange juice. Fluffy average head. Clumpy.
Smell: orange juice, dank, diesel fuel, rubber.
Taste: Dank, rubber, stonefruit, melon. Yeasty, sourdough bread.
Feel: juicy, slight burn.
Overall: when you go too far with the Nelson you get diesel. They went to an irresponsible level.

Straight pour from a 16 oz can to a teku (Highland Park’s black cat stem). This has a canning date of December 7, 2018 printed in black ink on the underside of the can (“Canned On 12.07.18”), making this can just under four weeks old at the time of consumption. I had a can when it was fresh-fresh without decanting, so I’m curious how this has held up over the last three-plus weeks.

Appearance (4.25): This pours out nearly three full fingers of custard-colored foam, dissipating at a downright leisurely pace. The body beneath is a murky, slightly orange-tinted dark tan. As the head dies away, it leaves an intricate mess of fine- and heavy-bodied clumps and legs and torn fragments of lacing all around the glass, tying a broken collar to a pock-marked, moonscape cap. This is gorgeous in the head, and a bit unappealing in body. Still very pretty.

Smell (4.5): A citrusy bouquet of cut fruit salad, throwing notes of sticky passionfruit, dead-ripe honeydew, musky papaya, and chopped apricot soaked in brandy. There’s a subtle leathery, earthy character that kind of emanates from the papaya musk and booze, which ties into an understated but still very present malt/grain body. It smells like light toffee and sugar cookie dough, with notes of cracked barley and wheat corns. I’m really impressed with how this has held up, and to be honest it’s much less boozy than when fresh.

Taste (4.25): On the palate, this beer projects an unexpectedly smooth (albeit boozy) character, with smooth melon and pear flavors paired with more bombastic berry notes, pineapple hard candy, and mandarin orange flesh. It transitions into a boozy, fruitcake-like character, driven by port-poached pear, and dried apricot soaked in brandy. Toward the back end, the flavor moves toward bright limeade and a touch of pink grapefruit bitterness, along with peach schnapps. There’s malt in here, too, but it’s subsumed and blended smoothly with the deep fruit notes and boozy, fruitcake-like character: berry crumble, light toffee, and oatmeal with light brown sugar characterize the depth of the beer. While it is boozy, it’s never burning, vaporous, or overly drying, in my opinion.

Mouthfeel (4.5): This beer is large and in charge, but I’ll absolutely take it. The body is full and well over medium-weight, and quite juicy—but it stops short of syrupy. It has a drying character on the back end that helps it to finish quite nice and tidy, allowing an impressively clean finish that hastens the next sip. For 10% ABV, it drinks like a big beer but remains surprisingly drinkable.

Overall (4.25): I am, to be frank, unexpectedly rather impressed by this beer. I always enjoy Highland Park’s hoppy, hazy beers, but I generally find that they lack a finished feeling, like they’re a little too obviously force-carbed, a little too hop-sediment-burn-y, and a little too chewy. Maybe I just need to let them sit in their cans for a week or two after buying them, because this is much smoother, properly carbonated, and generally well-integrated than I was expecting (and remember it being when it was fresh). I want to be clear: I always enjoy Highland Park’s hazy (D)IPAs. But they typically fall short of top-echelon status for the style. This, however, overcomes most of those obstacles, and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. Glad I still have one more can! Definitely recommended, if you’re interested in a hazy TIPA.

 

Irresponsible is one of very few Triple IPAs I've had the pleasure of meeting - and to be honest, it generally has not been my favorite style. I find that the yeast and malt crud endemic to cans is just not my thing - it's not pleasant in my mouth or throat.

But, Irresponsible seems to be something of an exception, which surprised me. It pours tremendously thick and sludgy with an aroma of wine and... perhaps my senses deceive me... pear? I love pears, so that's pretty great. I am still fighting off a cold, so I'm probably way off. The beer delivers in spades on taste - the wine grapes are quite present, and the juiciness is like a wall of sound experience. I'm impressed that the beer is such a tremendous experience at only 10%. Someone, please put a bug in Dog Fish Head's ear - this is how it should be done.

Irresponsible is sweet, juicy, rich, and quite delicious. Highly recommended.

 

Another big thank you to Jay for contributing to my irresponsible delinquency...

Irresponsible pours a completely opaque white washed yellow. It's big fluffy white head bursts with tropical fruits, a touch of alcohol, and a bit of yeasty funk. The flavor follows with a good dose of creamy fruitiness, however the alcohol flavor and warmth seems a bit distracting, but for a 10% abv beer, it cones somewhat expected. This is a pretty darn good hazy TIPA, and lacks that vanilla yogurty flavor that I typically don't enjoy. A pleasure, and another fine offering from HPB. Thanks again Jay! Cheers.

Received as an extra in a trade.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a super super hazy turbid greyish gold with a thin not quite one finger head that fades slowly to leave a fluffy halo and a light, thin blanket. Not much lacing.

S - Aromas of light melons, creamy citrus and oranges, super super faint bitterness. Light flashes of generic tropical fruit notes. Pleasant aroma, no discernible alcohol.

T - Taste is similar to the nose. Flash of melon up front before falling away to nice orange peel and juice. Light dankness, little bit of overripe pineapple flavour and sweetness. Just as the tropical juice starts showing up though the 10% ABV rears it's head and makes it's presence known.

M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, body is a little below medium resulting in a bit of a thin body. Alcohol noticeable as well.

O - Overall this was a solid DIPA. I think the flavours would have popped a little bit more if it was around 8% instead of the 10%, as then the juiciness of the hops would not be masked as much by the alcohol notes. Still though, this is a pleasant DIPA.

Serving Type: Can