Parallel 49 Hopnotist American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV | 86 IBU (C$7.49 at Oak & Vine, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 22-Aug-2017, reviewed 23-Aug-2017)
Appearance: hazy pale amber with two fat fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and well-defined lacing. (5/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, caramel, dank pine, stone fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, sweetish lingering bitter finish. (4/5)
Dumb hop-pun name beer number two for the evening. And damn, if P49 ain’t hitting another one out of the park here. I mean, these beers are almost good enough to forgive the stupid names… _almost_… It verges on old-fashioned, with a caramel, almost toffee, malt making its presence known from the outset. But the hops are very emphatically there right alongside the big malt body, and eventually grapple their way to dominance. (Something I’ve noticed, but never seen elucidated: for me, the magic balance seems to be when the IBU rating is about ten times the ABV. I think really well-done Session IPAs sometimes break that relationship, but overall it seems fairly solid: if you want 50 IBU, you need 5% ABV from your malt bill to provide adequate support. 60 IBU requires 6%, 70 IBU 7%, and so on. I may need to do some research.) Another single hop, but this time with Mosaic, delivering a pleasant bouquet of tropical fruits, pine, and citrus. A solid, almost West Coast, DIPA. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
