Price: gift

Region: Santa Rosa, California

Style: Double IPA

ABV: 8%

Bottled: 6/14/12

Sight: bright gold, frothy white head leaves elegant lace

Smell: roses, steel, earth, delicate malt 

Taste: floral, mushroomy, metallic, earthy, fresh, nutty finish

Overall: Highly aromatic, right off the bat.  I’m sitting in front of it at a table and floral hops jump straight out of the glass.  There’s also this part-earth/part-metal aroma I get with hops sometimes, and a timid little malt whispers in the background.  On the palate, it has a clean, focused attack—there’s a ton of flavor, but also an incredible freshness like cold spring water.  The flavor profile is gorgeously complex, and it’s as if some massive, living creature has been formed from the pieces the very earth is made of—the wildflowers, the dank mushroomy bits, brisk springs, loamy earth, and iron ore.  After this big beast lumbers magnificently across the palate, a nutty little acorn malt peeks its head in on the finish, just to make sure no one got hurt.  (I’m alright, thanks.)  This is one of the freshest, most cohesive beers I’ve had to date.

Alright, Kevan.  I’m officially impressed.