September DIPA (2019) | Badlands Brewing
From a 500ml bottle served cool at 9 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. Bottled on September 13th - making this two weeks old. The beer was picked up straight from the brewery - which is really out of the way for someone who lives downtown Toronto. I haven't tried a hop-forward beer by Badlands yet (that's what they're known for) so I'm pretty excited to review this.
Appearance
The beer pours a murky pale gold with 2cm of frothy, white head which dissipates into partial film within 2+ minutes. Exceptional lacing with decent head retention. It's so ugly... I hate murky beer.
Aroma
Moderate strength and quite balanced. The aroma has decent complexity and it's very hop-forward. Prominent notes of pine, sweet orange, melon, herbs, and grass. Beyond hops there's not much going on... perhaps a touch of toasty-bready pale malt and some ethanol. No apparent off-notes. The dry nose is reminiscent of toasty-bready pale malt, some hops, and hints of fresh yeast.
Flavour
Medium-strong intensity with bitter balance and pronounced perceived bitterness. The juicy palate opens up super fruity with mild minerals making way for a sweeter center where notes of tropical fruit (pineapple), citrus (sweet orange), and fresh grass mingle with woody (pine), vegetal (celery), and herbal hop-character. No malts in sight. The long finish is strong and bitter with notes of pine, tropical fruit, mild ethanol, and toasty-bready malt (finally, malt in sight). Great flavour.
Mouthfeel
Medium-full body with medium-low carbonation. The mouthfeel is quite heavy and slightly creamy with a restrained alcohol warming and an off-dry finish. There's some astringency but no actual harshness on the palate. Quite heavy for an IPA... even if it's x2.
Overall
Badlands Brewing's September DIPA is a very good beer. What this brew lacks in looks, it makes up for in flavour. It's juicy and packs a punch of layered, flavourful hop notes. The mouthfeel is slightly too heavy for me because it slows down the drinkability. More specifically: the impact this has on the palate in terms of bitterness and alcohol - both of which are not harsh - could be more subdued for a softer drinking experience. Add some clarity to the liquid on top of the easier mouthfeel and you have an excellent if not outstanding DIPA at your hands. I think this is worth a try if you can get your hands on it. I definitely recommend this to hop-lovers and I'm looking forward to my next hopsy Badlands.