Aroma: Resiny pine up front with grapefruit in the background. A hint of woody and bready notes at the back end. A hint of warming alcohol. No other aromas come through initially, but there is some dankness that comes through after warming. A bit catty. 11/12
Appearance: Brilliant gold/orange with thick rocky white head. Good retention. Mix of a few medium and plenty fine bubbles with excellent lacing. 3/3
Flavor: Grapefruit with a little peachiness dominates. Resiny pine lingers with a hint of sweet bready malt keeping it honest and from becoming too harsh. A touch of warming alcohol is barely detectable. No diacetyl or other off flavors. 18/20
Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with a balance towards the dry side from the hops but not astringent. Just enough sweetness to keep it from being harsh. A little tingling from the carbonation and warming from the alcohol. No diacetyl slickness. 5/5
Overall Impression: This is really a fantastic beer. I'm not a huge hop head in general, but this is worthy of many of the American DIPAs that beer geeks go gaga over. 9/10
That puts it as a 46/50 in my book. Andrew really knocked it out of the park with this one in my opinion. Personally, I still prefer Grand Reserve and ICS hedonistically, but this beer may put Louisiana on the map among hop heads. It's not too hoppy for me.
