Hop Juice DIPA by Two Brothers Brewing Co.

I will not play hooky from work to drink beer. I will not play hooky and…. I will drink beer. I will take a mental health day from my job

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The New Year is upon us, and this is beer numero dos from relieving my fridge of those ales and lagers acquired in aught twelve. The day has been, well, it has been here, and I am looking forward so much to my three day weekend, and not looking forward to my daily toil, that I have decided to call in and have some much needed Pope time.

Tonight I am popping the cap off a bottle of Hop Juice DIPA from Two Brothers Brewing Co. This bottle came all the way from Warrenville, Il, via Chicago, on a trip my brother took earlier this year.

A nice, burnt orange hue, the ale pours easily with just enough carbonation to form an excellent two finger head without much care. As the beer warms in the glass the head dissipated to a nickels thickness, but never losing a cloud like fluffiness that makes it a pretty sight to behold.

Aromas of floral, ripe grapefruit mingle with hints of bread and a slight malt sweetness.

It’s bottle boasting 100.1 IBUs, I was expecting a bitterness to knock my head off, but perhaps with age, or perhaps a more hop tempered tongue, the bitterness is just enough to make me happy, and not tearing my tongue apart or removing the enamel on my incisors.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a good deal of bitterness in this DIPA, but it finds a good place in front of a well rounded malt body that adds a nice brown sugar quality to the backend.

Also noted on the bottle is a respectable 9.9% ABV, but there is very little alcohol hotness to match.

This double India pale ale combines hop forwardness with a balanced malt body so well that this beer ranks among one of the best beers I’ve had enjoyed to date.  I cannot image a craft beer enthusiast who would find fault with this ale.