Palate Wrecker

Thanks to Justen Parris for sending Jen up with this beer on her last visit. I savedit for when she came up again, and we finally tasted it at the end of my 3 x hatter brew shift last night.

Appearance: Hazed orange amber with a consistent hue. The head takes a puffy cream color and a dense soapy texture. Apart from the cloudiness, some carbonation bubbles remain visible.
Aroma: A fruitful dose of pine and tropical fruit erupt from the glass. Hints of caramel and brown sugar soon follow along side a generous character of orange peel. Pineapple aromas from the hops are most prevalent in conjunction with a growing malt base as the beer warms.
Taste: An enormous caramel/toffee malt base formulate the majority of the foretaste. Gradually the hops emerge with a dominating vengeance. Pine is what I think dominates mid-taste but no sooner does it begin to branch out in a plethora of hop-oriented complexities. Hints of tropical fruits remain a central theme here, even subtle notes of papaya, accompanied with mango skin and the obvious west coast pineapple contribution from the hops. Some alcohol burns the back of the throat as the bee goes down, but it is nothing to draw away from the tasting experience. A boastful pine resin is left on the tongue, leaving a very green, sap taste on the palate. As the beer warms, the combination of caramel malts and absurd hops create a deceptively reminiscent flavor of dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: A little on the heavy-side and tacky on the lips. Warming effect from the high alcohol percentage that coats the back of your throat. Little burst of carbonation in the foretaste that unveils the earthy bitterness in the hops.
Overall Impression: Yum. This creeps up on you. If you are trying with other beers, take note of the name and taste only after finishing the last of your flight. At 100+ IBUs, your palate will officially be wrecked, tastebuds deadened and overwhelmed, making it hard to pull out flavors in other beers. Yet, with the high alcohol and dominant flavor of hops, it is extremely well balanced and every hop head should give it a go! Cheers.