Hill Farmstead Ephraim

Ephraim
Hill Farmstead Brewery
Greensboro, Vermont
10.50% ABV
Style: Double IPA

C: Clear
H: Liquid GOLD
N: Pine and Citrus Overpower the Nose

The Ferm: Big thanks to HopScotch for sharing this super popular new IIPA from Vermont. I was really looking forward to this beer. Will it live up to the hype from Beer Advocate and RateBeer?
BIG TIME! Jesus, this is what a double IPA should be. Tons of citrus and piney hop flavor, with a solid body, and a nice hint of malt/caramel on the back-end.
OK, so it lives up to the hype, but does it compare to Pliney, Hopslam, Dreadnaught, and other awesome IIPA's? Well pretty good but its not a Fresh Pliney. I'd say 2nd best IIPA I have ever had. I will be on the look out for more beers from this brewery, and will work on making a trip to Vermont.

Score: 5.0

Short's Brew The Liberator IPA

The Liberator
Short’s Brewing Company
Elk Rapids, MI
7.40% ABV
Style: Imperial IPA

C: Clear
H: Golden Amber
N: HELLO HOPS! Super Citrus w/ Hints of Grass & Sweet Sugary Honey

EvilTwin: I love IPA's and DIPA's, but they aren't neccesaraly my go to beers, those have, as of late, have been Imperial Stouts and Porters. So when I come across a good one, such as this, it's almost like rediscovering a good album or song on your ipod you haven't heard in while.

This one had a nice hoppy aroma to it, which is always what intrigues me first about an IPA or DIPA. The aroma also had a good amount of malt, honey, fresh cut grass and lemon zest to it. The color was somewhat brownish, hazy and murky with a slim head on it. The taste and flavors were much like the aroma. The flavors hung on the palate for quite a while and turned from bitter to sweet. Great to taste a good DIPA again.
Score: 4.23

The Ferm: Well if you have followed the blog since day one you are probably thinking...wait I have seen this beer before. Yep, March 24th 2010, this beer was reviewed for the first time with The Cerveza Chica. I figured I would revisit this beer without looking at my previous notes, then compare. I know my appreciation for Stouts has grown a lot but what about a Double IPA.

This beer smells soo good I accidentally snorted it up my nose when getting a good wiff of the scent. The beer is extremely balanced Double IPA....tons of hops and a solid malt backing. This really is a damn good DIPA, lots on piney citrus, followed with a mouth puckering flavor. Lots of sweet candy notes on the back-end of the taste. Overall a damn good DIPA, that I think is one of the best that I have had so far!
Score: 4.521 (my old score was a 3.21!)

Overall: 4.3755