Double India Pale Ales are a relatively recent innovation, reflecting the trend of American craft brewers 'pushing the envelope' to satisfy the need of beer aficianados for increasingly intense products. The adjective "double" is arbitrary and simply implies a stronger version of an IPA; "imperial", "extra", "extreme" or any other of variety of adjectives would be equally valid. This ale is an intensely hoppy, very strong pale ale without the big maltiness and/or deeper malt flavors of an American barleywine.
The aroma showcases a prominent hop nose that was derived using 100% Bravo hops from the Pacific Northwest; a remarkable citrusy hop character is at the forefront. We also dry-hopped for an additional resinous, or grassy, aroma. Some clean, malty sweetness is found in the background, while slight fruitiness, either from hops or esters, is also detected. 50 lbs. of local honey was added during the boil to reduce some of the bitterness and impart a more balanced, sweeter characteristic. Some alcohol can usually be noted, but this does not have a "hot" character. Color is golden amber to copper.
Brewer's specs:
Malt:
85% pale 2-row malt
10% Vienna malt
5% malted white wheat
Hops:
100% Bravo hops added at ten different times from start to finish
50 lbs. of honey from a local beekeeper added to boil
105 minute boil
Fermented 7 days at 19C with our house ale yeast
OG 23 Plato
10% ABV; 90+ IBU
It's been several years since we brewed this and we're proud to say it's back on tap. This is a clean, crisp lager with a bold blackberry presence. While some breweries may use extracts, syrups or processed flavors, we used over 150 lbs. of fresh Oregon blackberries for this bottom fermenting lager. The malt flavor is hidden with a low hop bitterness to allow the fruit to dominate.
