Sudwerk Brewing - The Big DIPL

And, in case you thought Sudwerk was just fooling around with that whole IPL thing (which means you probably haven’t had Cascaderade yet), they went ahead and made a double: The Big DIPL. This 9% lagered behemoth is brewed with Galaxy, Simcoe, and something called Summer hops. The lattermost are predominantly (exclusively?) Australian-grown and rather low in bittering alpha acids. They’re known for giving apricot and melon flavors and aromas, and, while they may not prove as pungent as tropical Galaxy and piney Simcoe, throughout this they seem to offer some highly endearing secondary notes of cantaloupe and stone fruit.

This has seen only spotty distribution just in California: about 200 cases over the last six months.

The Big DIPL is immense and aromatic from the moment it’s poured. But as it’s allowed to get a bit warmer, even more of those expansive hop qualities come through. This seems just a bit darker than Cascaderade, a deep golden-orange overall, with an equally generous white head that isn’t going anywhere. The aromatics are intense: juicy pomelo grapefruits, passion fruits, pith and pine. One can really just poke around those supporting notes for quite some time, conjuring notes like white peaches, kaffir lime, and even Concord grapes. Dig in here.

That first sip is no less nuanced: the tang of sweet mango, not-shy citrus bitterness ranging from lemons to grapefruit to passion fruit, and an earthy pine edge that speaks well of that Simcoe addition. But, again, this keeps going. The carbonation, as with the Cascaderade, is perfectly tuned, giving this a subtle lift of spritziness that doesn’t feel heavy handed. There seems a subtle, fruity alcohol warmth, but the perimeter’s crisp, with a lager-like toastiness.

And then those Summer notes: muskmelon, one taster noted; sweet Moroccan apricots...

Your mileage may vary as far as where exactly those fruit descriptors land. But there’s just no doubt that this is well-appointed, dank, delicious hop juice—with a ton of character. Like the Cascaderade, we found this sublime: drinkable, crisp, with a massive hoppiness. As Sudwerk confirms on the label: This is the hoppiest beer they’ve ever bottled. And we don’t doubt it.