Bearded Iris Offbeat Double IPA

You big, beautiful bastards! I knew you had another IPA in you, but I never expected another DIPA. Bearded Iris isn't the greatest brewery out there, but they are easily in the top 5%. There are very few breweries that have me chomping at the bit to try out another beer that may be almost identical to the rest of their line, but Bearded Iris is in there.

Another cloudy beauty from the guys that have a brewery just a stone's throw away. The head is really minimal from the get-go, and the remnants are just about nothing but a scattering of bubbles on the top. If there are any points of nucleation sizzling underneath, they are lost to the murkiness of the tangerine orange beer.

First sip is bitter, citrus, floral, and a little funky. It's not bad, but it's not great. The funkiness is a bit unexpected, and the mix of it and the floral reminds me of some off-putting floral hop beers (and floral beers that actually used flowers) and that's not great.

Tip-in is bitter flowers and citrus with carbonation tingle. The middle opens into a world of orange, tangerine, and pear juice that is sweet and smooth as an android's bottom. There is mild earth here backing it up, and it is complimenting everything going on quite well. The finish is a slow increase of earth and bitterness, but it never swells too high. The trail off has that slight funk under some citrus, but it's even now, unlike the sip.

Bottom Line: A beer best drunk quickly, and it rewards those who do.

3.75/5