Appearance: Pours a definite orange hue producing a sparing head which reduces quickly to a thin foamy layer. There is slight lacing which retains the bubbly, foamy character, but doesn't last long on the side of the glass.
Aroma: For a liberally dry-hopped beer, as this claims to be, the aroma is very minimal and the character of the aroma is odd for an IPA. There is a definite vegetable greenness to it, like the smell of a green stem breaking or of freshly cut grass. I get almost none of the floral hop quality I'm so used to from beers of this style. If it were still pleasant and made me excited to taste I would be open to it, but it's ultimately off-putting.
Taste: There's certainly a lot of hops in this brew, but that vegetative greenness is the strongest flavor presented by them and it lasts from beginning to aftertaste. Besides the unexpected character from the hops, there is a slight brineyness, finishing with a heavy sweetness, vanilla, brown sugar, a combination of the overdone malt, amplified by oak, and the high alcohol content, 9.5%.
Mouthfeel: Much too heavy considering the lack of complexity. I've had other southern tier brews and they certainly push it to the limit with alcohol content, but usually they achieve complex, full flavors. This is a syrupy mess of a beer with the only reward being a strong buzz after the 22oz is empty.
Overall: I get what they tried to do here. Oak aging an IPA is something I've seen only sparingly by breweries that try to transcend tradition; I know Stone has one as well. But in this beer the interesting idea falls flat. By adding time in an oak barrel, the glorious hop has been transformed from a fresh, floral, complex treasure to a combination of broccoli and maple syrup drowning in cheap booze. I won't be revisiting this one and I can't recommend it.
2/5
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