Amager / Grassroots Shadow Pictures Skyggebilleder Double IPA

Beer Name: Shadow Pictures / Skyggebilleder

****corrected 3/21/2017 via message from Amager Bryghus

Brewery: Amager Bryghus (Kastrup, Denmark) in collaboration with Grassroots Brewing Co. and Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro Bend, VT)
ABV: 8.0%
How sold: 500 mL bottles
Where bought: Craft Shack (San Diego, CA)  ****bought online
Price: $12.49(!!!) for 500 mL bottle

Date Bought: December 6, 2016
Date Received: December 9, 2016
Date Opened: December 16, 2016
When brewed/released? Rotating beer. Collaboration between Amager and Hill Farmstead.

What's on the Bottle: "Shaun Hill - magician, eccentric, wizard and one of the modern craft beer world's most unique personalities. In every way a person as far away as imaginable from typical Amager frat boy mentality.

But in spite of this - or perhaps because of this - Shaun became a good friend of Amager Bryghus when he himself worked as a brewer at Norrebro Bryghus, Copenhagen years ago. And quite a few beers came to the light of day in the vaults of Amager Bryghus as a result of this fruitful collaborative friendship. So when we visited New England in the summer of 2013 it was only natural to pop by Shaun's famous farmhouse brewery - Hill Farmstead - absolutely in the middle of nowhere. Shaun gave us a hard time for finishing a couple of kegs of some rare saison during a late night drinking session, but all of that was forgotten the next morning, when we brewed 'Shadow Pictures of a Journey' (a name inspired by H.C. Andersen's writings) - a clean and almost insultingly quaffable Double IPA loaded with crisp aroma hops. 'Shadow Pictures - Skygge-billeder' is our very own interpretation of the beer we brewed with Shaun on one beautiful summer's day in Vermont."

What's on the Website: "This double IPA is a collaborative beer brewed by Shaun E. Hill of Hill Farmstead Brewery with Jacob Storm and Morten Lundsbak of Amager Bryghus (Denmark) at Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT.

The name is inspired by one of Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson's travelogues; the beer represents a vivid but fleeting memory of a productive and wonderful visit by our Danish friends to Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. 8% abv."


Where distributed: Unknown, but can at least be found in California and probably Vermont.

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured hazy golden into a pint glass. Off-white head and lots of tiny bubbles. 4.25/5

Smell (25%): Malty, biscuit-y, and tropical fruits (grapefruit, passion fruit, stone fruit). 4/5

Taste (40%): Follows the nose. Malty and biscuit-y from start to finish, with lovely burst of tropical (grapefruit, passion fruit, and stone fruit) flavors. Also some octane on this beer, but it doesn't detract from the great tropical flavors. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium-full bodied, some carbonation. Slightly sticky and very juicy on the tongue. 4.75/5

Overall (20%): An excellent Double IPA. Had to get this once I saw this was a collaboration with Hill Farmstead. Yes, I do plan on getting to the New England states later this year. The brand names on this beer certainly increased the price tenfold. As a person who can buy tasty 22 oz bottles (larger 650 mL bottles) for anywhere between $5 and $8, I couldn't see myself paying $12.49 for another 500 mL bottle, but I did enjoy every drop. 4.25/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.238/5