Body Spray Brut Double IPA
Brewery: Austin Beerworks
Style: 21B (Specialty IPA)
Package: 16oz Can
Purchased: February 2019, HEB Tech Ridge
Packaged Date: 1/4/19
Consumed Date: 2/19/19
Details from the Brewer
ABV: 10%
Body Spray Double Brut IPA is a collaboration with our best buds at Sun King Brewing. It is super-dry, super bubbly, exploding with ripe tropical aroma and flavor, and 10% ABV.
Review
Aroma – 10/12
Durian and Guava aromas hit the nose at a medium intensity on first sniff. Fainter notes of evergreen, flowers and grapefruit mix in as well. There’s a low sweetness which blends with a good amount of ethanol. Malt character is faint, with hints of a grainy bread crust. As it warms, the tropical fruit notes almost combine into a bubblegum character.
Appearance – 3/3
Pours a deep gold liquid. Fantastic, crystal clear clarity. An ivory head of small and fine bubbles builds to a moderate level, and sticks around with above average retention. Some lacing as well.
Flavor – 11/20
The same durian, guava, and mango tropical notes in the aroma carry over in the flavor. They’re a bit mellower than I’d expect at a moderate level, and are joined by low-medium floral and grapefruit citrus flavors towards the mid palate. Very low notes of grainy crackery malt character also appear in the midpalate, and combat the moderate-high bitterness that develops. A slight sweetness peaks just before the finish. The finish is decently soft, yet very boozy with hop flavor lingering. Balance is completely hop weighted and almost alcohol weighted on the finish.
Mouthfeel – 3/5
Moderate carbonation. The body is low-medium, thinning out towards the finish. Alcohol warmth is substantial on the mid palate and finish. Moderate astringency on the tongue and cheeks. No perceivable hop oils.
Overall Impression – 8/10
An interesting take on the Brut IPA style. The imperial nature of this beer is a tough balancing act to add on to an already hard to balance style. The hop choices here were excellent, and work with the style. I’d like to see some additional carbonation to make the beer more effervescent. I would expect a touch lighter body, but it’s forgivable for the Imperial nature. The finish did not hide the alcohol well, and was reminiscent of malt liquor. Dropping this to a 8.5% grain bill would improve it dramatically.
Rating – 40/50
This is definitely the biggest brut IPA I’ve had so far. I really thought the hop combinations here were excellent for the style. That said, I just couldn’t get past the extreme unbalanced boozy finish. You could probably make some jokes about the Body Spray name being overpowering, but it really wasn’t the hop flavor/aroma, just the booze. I really enjoyed the durian character of the hop profile. It didn’t border into the B.O. territory you often get from similar hop profiles.
