Abnormal Beer Nelson Double Double IPA

Beer Name: Nelson Double Double (Batch #1)
Brewery: Abnormal Beer Company (San Diego, CA)
ABV: 8.4%
How sold: 16 oz tallboy cans; on draft
Where bought: Craft Shack  ****bought online
Price: $4.49 for 16 oz. tallboy can

Date Canned: September 1, 2017
Date Purchased: September 22, 2017
Date Received: September 27, 2017
Date Opened: October 18, 2017
When brewed? Limited-time beer. This is Batch #1.

What's on the Can: "This double dry hopped double India Pale Ale starts as a classic west coast IIPA but then gets hit with two doses of Nelson Sauvin hops post fermentation. The purpose of this method is to add back more hop aromatics that could be driven off by the degassing that happens during the initial dry hop. This is what a Nelson beer is alllllll about. Drink this can fresh...like right now!"

Where distributed: As of January 2018, Abnormal Beer distributes within California.

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured hazy burnt orange into a pint glass. Frothy white head and trace lacing. 4.25/5

Smell (25%): Pineapple with complementing malt notes. 4/5

Taste (40%): Starts malt forward but the pineapple/tropical gets more assertive along the way. You'll be reminded of the high ABV, but not after tanking half the glass. Certainly has the flavor of a West Coast IPA. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium-full bodied, good carbonation. Sticky with some juicy qualities. 4.25/5

Overall (20%): An awesome to excellent Double IPA. I loved the tropical experience and the octane was kept in check. You can read more about the Nelson Sauvin hop here. I personally have not had gooseberries (yet) but this beer has a tart fruity flavor where the first thing coming to mind was pineapple. Gets a slight bump above New Money in my book. Price seems to be the norm for a tallboy these days if it's a quality IPA from a top-notch microbrewery. 4.25/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.188/5