Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Double Dragon 2012

For some unknown reason, I keep buying this beer year after year. Perhaps it was the taste in 2008 that drew me in: overabundance of hops with a great toasted malt accompaniment. 2011 was such a let down that I dumped most of the bottle down the sink. Life is too short for bad beer. How about this year? It was better than last year...


Double Dragon 2012 = 3/10
Ratebeer 3.29 81st percentile
Beer Advocate

First off, this beer smells amazing! It has all the PNW hop goodness one could ask for. Say 'hello' to floral, ruby red grapefruit rind, blood orange, the earth and a hint of toasted biscuits. After this it all went wrong. There was lots of carbonation which only enhanced a vague soapy and citrus astringency. Behind the initial glorious hop slap was a thin whimpering of toasted malts, caramel, cherries ending with spicy arugula salad. The ending was a tad soapy, tacky and sticky. It reminded me of a wilted arugula salad with grapefruit slices on top.  As it warmed up and the aromas died down, the brew became relatively flavourless. Past memories willed me to like this beer, but alas the last bits hit the drain.

Taste +2
Aftertaste -1
Alcohol Content +1 8.4% (hidden very well)
Value 0
Appearance +1 (great label art, but then I had a thing for Asian art)

Other imperial red reviews
Captain Sigs Northwest Ale
Big Red Imperial Ale (Southern Tier)
Hop Head Red Ale (Green Flash)


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