22oz bomber (partially) into the Terrapin 22oz snifter – a nice combo! Picked this one up at State Line.
Pour is a mid to dark orange with a nice head from the aggressive pour (I thought the aggression would be a good idea because with the ABV the head was likely to be limited). It does fade quickly to leave some decent lace and some spotty, creamy film.
Nose has the requisite pine and grapefruit notes.
Tastes are typical for the style. Grapefruit is there, but the bitterness is really quite harsh. Nothing subtle about this, and ultimately I think it is way too big for its britches. Slow burn on the way down completes the unbalanced package. It’s just VERY difficult to make a beer this ENORMOUS in terms of hops and ABV, and still end up with something that is drinkable. For me, this fails somewhat.
Dry, burning finish. Unbalanced and rough.
I am always wary of cracking one of these bombers of such a HUGE beer and I really struggled to finish this. Not sure if that is a function of the beer or the style, but for me this was just a little too much.