23 Anniversary Ale
Heavy Seas Beer

Poured from a can into a snifter. Pours orange red with a fluffy white head. Smells of citrus hops, very strong. Tastes of citrus hops, slight earthy notes. Beer is full bodied but still very smooth with good carbonation. Overall a very good beer.

Like a lot of doubles I could taste the alcohol.

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a snifter glass. Had an amber / brown color and a cloudy consistency. There was an inch of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: A solid aroma of hops, caramel, citrus fruit, pine, malt, and tropical fruit.

T: Tasted of a good shot of pine (more than expected), a decent bit of malt (mostly in the finish), lots of hops (not overdone, though), some citrus fruit (orange), and a little tropical fruit (pineapple). A well-balanced, straightforward flavor. It's not quite as hoppy as the "triple IPA" billing advertises, but it still works. Much hoppier than fruit-centric.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a somewhat dry finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly made, easy to drink DIPA. Worth a try.

 

 

A: medium brown with a light white head.

S: sweet with toasted caramel, orange zest, and sweet pineapple.

T: like orange zest and caramel mixed together. Tropical fruits, a hint of earth, and some booze.

M: medium thick, carbonation is moderate to high. Slight bitter cling. I think the higher carbonation genius keep this from getting syrupy.

O: An interesting booze bomb of hop flavor. Maybe a little rough around the edges. Drinks closer to a barley wine.

Poured a copper-brown body with two-finger head and lace ring down glass. The aroma has old-school hints of caramel malt and bread, along with piney, oily, citric hops. Smooth, crisp, clean, sweet, sticky, the booze makes itself known with a little heat to it; the hops give off an earthy, piney taste and the beer's balance makes it enjoyable and something different from the NEIPA domination of market right now.

Heavy Seas Beer "Heavy Seas 23"
One Pint can coded "18265 BEST BY 04/20/19" and sampled on 29 January 2019
$4.99 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: When did Heavy Seas actually become Heavy Seas? They've always been Clipper City. I guess they got that switched over. Anyway, big beer; I'm kind of afraid of it. 11.5% - is this going to put me to bed? It's just me so I've got a whole pint of it. OK, let's go, it's poured a hazy copper colored body beneath a two finger thick head of fine-bubbled, creamy off-white foam. It's more malty and caramelish in the nose than it is hoppy, which is odd given that it's supposedly triple dry-hopped. It's a little bit citrusy, and also a lot apple-like which I guess is coming from the yeast. On to the flavor... it's very much like an English barleywine. It has that same kind of maltiness, the same body, and the same strength. I am getting more hop flavors though, mainly orange and berry, What was this hopped with? "Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic, and Cascade" - OK, well I get the Cascade and the Mosaic, but not too much of the Simcoe and Citra, of course this is a little bit old although still in code. I like it. It's not what I'd expected, but it's interesting. And I should also point out that it's got some very good head retention and very nice lacing. OK, what have I missed? Oh, bitterness, yes. Despite all of the medium to dark caramelish malt that's there, a firm bitterness and some drying alcohol balance it. The berry-like note from the Mosaic hops, and the apple-like note from the yeast also work really well with that caramelish malt. It's full bodied, not overtly so, but definitely full; and the carbonation thus comes across as tiny, fine bubbles. It lends a caress to the tongue, one that's not quite lightly bristling, and then it warms to become smoother and more creamy. As it warms up I'm getting much more lemon in the finish which must be coming from the Citra. Overall I like this; and I can see where they're coming from with the "triple IPA" designation as it's like a Double IPA, albeit it with a little too much caramel malt, and thus this is just a step further, and really, it is too hoppy to be an English barleywine.

Review# 6,456

 

eyes...
damn bubbly, 2 fingers of stacked head floating over deep orange blush, plenty of reserve bubbles to replace the ones evaporating into the ether, good lacing and the head is definitely sticking around for the long haul (or sip as it were)

nose...
super piney lying on a malty bed, citrus pricks, you can definitely detect the alcohol lurking underneath, surprisingly malty

taste etc...
firstly I noticed how thick this stuff is, feels heavy in the mouth, juicy hops but man the alcohol runs pretty hot in this one, decent bittering on the back end (well, maybe a little underwhelming now that I am sipping a bit more), oddly, with all the carbonation I am staring at this drinks flatter than it should (or more precisely I think it should have a more carbo kick), definite stomach burn on this - whew this is hot, somehow the massive amounts of hops they used (as it says on the can) get lost somewhere in translation... and dry hopped? I'll take their word for it but man it falls short there as well

verdict?
not bad, not great, certainly plenty of ABV to go around, not as juicy as something like 3Fs Dreadnaught (which I think goes big in all the right places)

 

 

 

 

The first line of the bottom of the can is smudged, but below that: "BEST BY 04/20/19"

Appearance: It is a golden brown color with enough haze to allow only hazy shadows through the glass. The head is short and creamy textured with an eggshell-white appearance. Good lacing.

Aroma: It has a caramel aroma mixed with pine and alcohol.

Taste: There's a caramel sweetness that quickly shifts into a bitter pine flavor. There is an alcohol undertone to the beer that seeps through. It has a strong cedar backbone.

Mouthfeel: It feels a bit soupy and bitter with low carbonation and a full body. The strong bitterness and alcohol lead to this being a sipper.

Overall: This "TRIPLE IPA" (quoted from the can label) has a lot of flavor and it has a classic East Coast style Double IPA aroma which clearly earns the namesake. Unfortunately it just doesn't have a solid direction. The flavors clash a lot and at the end of the day the trade-off for higher alcohol and more bitterness is a beer that doesn't blend its flavors well. It's not a beer I'd drink more than one of and it really isn't one I'd recommend off the cuff.

 

Crystal clear but shockingly dark reddish-amber brew. Head production and retention are both quite solid.

The color gives an impression of caramel malt, and the nose does not disappoint: tons of brown sugar, honey, and caramel meld seamlessly with the impressive hop bill, itself yielding tones of grapefruit, mandarin orange, mango, pineapple, and peach.

Flavor is a challenging blend of hops, malt, and yeast, with banana tones prominently rising to the forefront, followed by mango, peach, berries, and light pepper. Emphasis is on malty sweetness, sweet and spicy yeast, and tropical hops.

Very smooth, especially for such a high ABV TIPA. Absolutely no hint of the 11.5% - and I mean none. Mouthfeel is medium-full and smooth.

The presentation of this beer is wonderful, and the nose is superb, but the flavor profile - while tasty - left me wanting. Overall, I think it's a very impressive beer, and a remarkably approachable TIPA.

Best by 4/21/19. 16oz can poured into a tulip. Pours a burnt golden/amber with solid clarity; fluffy light khaki head that falls leaving nice retention and lacing. The aromas have a subtle blend of floral and citrus notes. Some hints of caramel. Malts are there. The flavors are bold. Citrus leads the way. Some orange and grapefruit. Some pine sap and resin. Hints of black pepper and rye giving it a subtle spiciness. More hints of caramel along with some toffee. Solid bitterness. Solid malt backbone. It's slightly sticky. It finishes juicy. It also finishes slightly warm, but it's not hot or boozy. Mouthfeel is very nice. It's full-bodied with soft moderate carbonation. It's fluffy, smooth and makes for a nice sipper.

This is a solid "Triple IPA". It's a big beer and it drinks big as well. It's not super flashy, but it's still nice. It's well crafted. It's enjoyable and fun to drink. Not bad at all. I like it.

 

Look is of a very nice amber ale, good head and lacing. Taste reveals the high ABV, but well balanced by malt. Dangerously drinkable