Block 15 Sticky Hands (Marmalade)

****This is different from the usual Block 15 Sticky Hands Hop Experience Ale and different from Block 15 Sticky Hands Tropical Slam that I previously reviewed. This variation has "copious amounts" of Belma, Chinook, Amarillo, and Apollo hops.

Beer Name: Sticky Hands (Marmalade Variant)
Brewery: Block 15 Brewing Co. (Corvallis, OR)
ABV: 8.1%
How sold: 4-packs of tallboy pints (16 oz cans)
Where bought: Bridgetown Beerhouse (Portland, OR)
Price: $12.99 for 4-pack

"Canned on" Date: October 31, 2016
Date Purchased: November 1, 2016
Date Opened/Drank: November 5, 2016
IBUs: 110(!)

What's on the Can: "This Hop Experience Ale features ample additions of sticky, resinous, lupulin-packed hop buds. An aromatic blast of tropical fruits, citrus, and dank herbs transitions into luscious hop flavor with a balanced bitter finish. Tongue happy hoppy face slap. Sticky Hands is canned and delivered fresh. Enjoy bright hoppy notes when young or store cold and let the characters meld. Either way is a delicious hop experience and you deserve the choice. Store cold, drink cool, keep it real."

What's on the Website: "Sticky Hands, Marmalade features the same grist makeup and hop extract as our base version, but adapts the hopping routine with citrusy Belma, Chinook, and Amarillo varietals. Belma imparts bitter orange rind notes, while Amarillo and Chinook offer pungent contributions of tangerine and grapefruit peel. Fermentation with a blend of American and English ale yeast enables our brewers to hit our desired attenuation while producing peachy esters, a soft mouthfeel, and an alluring haze." Read more here!

When brewed? Special release. Block 15 Brewing brews and cans the regular Sticky Hands beers for distribution every other week. The Marmalade variant is a limited-time release featuring Belma, Chinook, Amarillo, and Apollo hops. The regular Sticky Hands hop combination remains a trade secret.

Where distributed: As of November 2016, Block 15 Brewing only distributes to select places within Oregon. Click to see where Block 15 distributes its beer!

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured hazy peach-apricot colored into a pint glass. Unfiltered. Off-white head with some lacing. 4.25/5

Smell (25%): A mix of dank, tropical (mainly grapefruit), and malt. 4.25/5

Taste (40%): Initially dank, malty, and slight alcoholic punch. Dankness stays and the grapefruit tropical comes in. This one is more about the dank and bitterness than prior versions. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium-full bodied; some carbonation. Velvety to retain more bitterness, then a dry tongue experience. 4.25/5

Overall (20%): An excellent Double IPA. While I admittedly prefer the regular Sticky Hands and its Tropical Slam variant from earlier in 2016, Marmalade was still a very respectable beer that I would routinely have. It's the same price at around $13 for a 4-pack of tallboys. 4.25/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.25/5