What do you look for in a Double IPA?

All the above.

More hops with little malt, prefer the big tropical flavors with a good amount of bitterness. Alcohol content doesn't matter. Looking to avoid a big alchool presence and syrupy/heavy body.

 

Big hop flavors, smaller malt flavors. Big bitterness and big alcohol.

 

For my own preferences, I prefer those that are less boozy and more drinkable. I want to be (almost) fooled into thinking it is a "single" IPA. The bigger, bolder ones are fine for the style and all, but I just happen to enjoy the others more.

 

I'll echo the sentiments here. Less malty sweetness too, I find that many DIPAs just get too malty and sweet.

Give me tons of tropical fruits, maybe some dankness, just a bit of malt backbone. Abrasive is just the DIPA I judge all others against.

 

It depends, if I'm going to drink it right away, I would like the malt bill to be more reserved and the hops more aggressive.
If I'm planning on converting it into a Barleywine over a few months to years, then I like the malt bill to be a little more assertive.

 

I want it to be good!

I am looking for a bright, juicy, flavorful IPA. A ton of grapefruit, pine is good to-but I'm looking a lot more for citrus than pine. Low to medium residual bitterness, and a mild, preferably caramel malt backbone-enough to add to the complexity but to be way in the background under the big, bold, hoppy flavor. Mouthfeel has to be juicy, oily, and smooth.

 

Lots of hops.

 

I did a tasting with DFH 90 that didn't go on for 18 most but did get it out there to 9-10 mos. Bought a case fresh and spread consumption out over 9-10 mos so I could track the change for myself. Wrote my review of the beer at about 9 mos. Didn't think it was Barleywine like either. Definitely more sweetness than when fresh and not a trace of bitterness, but there were still detectable hop notes in the beer, the malt clearly dominated, but it was much more like drinking a sweet sherry than a Barleywine.

 

A good DIPA to me has the alcohol flavor of a good IPA (eg, none whatsoever) with a bunch more hop flavor packed in. Should be somewhere between semi-dry and semi-sweet, preferably with little discernible malt flavor, just malt presence (mouthfeel). I prefer my hop profile to be in the tropical fruit arena ala Citra or any of the numerous Aussie/New Zealand hops, with a secondary preference for Chinook (dirty, filthy, pungent) and piney hops. I want grapefruit to be kept to an absolute minimum.

 

Hop Balance. I like when there is a blend of tangy grapefruit bitterness, some tropical mango and melon, and some earthy piney flavors. Single hop beers are great but sometimes I get tired of the flavour by the end of the glass, for instance I just grabbed two 6ers of Tasmanian IPA from Schlafly which only uses Galaxy Hops (not a double IPA) and while I love the intense mango flavours they get a little tiresome without something else to play with.

I definitely want a malt presence as well, some honey cracker sweetness to mix with the hop bitterness.

No alcohol flavor. I love boozy barleywines and stouts from time to time but not for my DIPA.

 

I prefer a DIPA that drinks like a IPA - clean flavors, am imbalance that leads towards the hops. Tropical fruits in the nose, with the taste that begins with a nod towards the malt, with the hops taking over mid-palate and finishes clean and dry with a piney/floral/citrusy bitterness. I am not a fan of earthy or grassy bitterness in IPAs. Oh, and btw, not a big fan of alcohol either. 8% or lesser ABV works for me...

 

Super hoppy, not too much alcohol taste. Trillium Heavy Mettle fit this bill for me big time.

 

Hype, scarcity and a high price


Yep, I love me some Double Hype-eeays

 

The Hopslam "shit show" will commence in about three months but I think this one really got it right. Sure there are others now so much "bigger," "hoppier," "citrusy," "dank"--whatever folks now seem to crave more of. Was better in the past?--whatever.

It remains very drinkable, smooth, ok a tiny bit boozy, plenty of hops, big back bone and all around enjoyable. I find Odell's Myrcenary very similar and love to get it when I can.

Is it Enjoy By?--no........it is Hopslam. it was one of the first, it is not trying to be anything. IMHO--the DIPA that kind of started it all and still here to play. Critics bang away.

 

The IIPAs I enjoy the most are in the 8-9% ABV range.

 

I don't mind what sort of hop quality they take on as long as they're syrupy. Not always the case with regular IPAs.