Beer Review: Double Daisy Cutter

Reviewing the Double Daisy Cutter from Half Acre Brewing Company out of Chicago.
Score: 92

This beer, ceremoniously consumed in a Half Acre tulip, came from a growler I got filled just hours earlier on the day of Double Daisy Cutter's release (02/26/12). Short of drinking beer straight from the tap, it is impossible to get a beer any fresher than we got this one. I was in Chicago that weekend and just had to stop by the brewery to pick up an allotment's worth of this nectar. As you can tell from the picture, Double Daisy Cutter has one of the coolest labels of any beer. Half Acre always has great labels, actually (see my review of Big Hugs). This beer bills itself as an "imperial pale ale," but it is categorized by everyone else as an imperial IPA. This is a backlogged review from a beer tasting I hosted on Oscar night.

Appearance: Pours a translucent yellow/orange color that fades from a slightly reddish-orange to yellow from the bottom of the glass to the top when held up to light. Four full fingers of creamy colored/off-white soapy head at pour slowly settles into a thin layer atop the glass. Excellent lacing, superior retention. An absolutely gorgeous looking beer. 5/5

Smell: Fresh, pulpy grapefruit and orange. Bright lemon and fresh, super hoppy wort. Sticky pine sap and pineapple juice too. Loads of fresh, sticky tropical citrus here. There's also some of that signature "garden daisy" aroma that defines the regular Daisy Cutter. 4.5/5

Taste: Loads of pulpy, hoppy tangerine with a bite of lemon zest. Fresh pine, but no "sticky" or resinous sap. There's freshly squeezed orange juice, herbal hops and pineapple up front as well. There's a really "juicy citrus" backbone here, but most of the flavor seems "up front" and in the finish with a slight "gap" of flavor in between. The regular Daisy Cutter suffers from the same flaw (lack of midpalate flavor). The fresh citrus flavors upfront are delicious enough to make up for it, but this is a clearly noticeable "flaw" (it could be intentional) in the beer. The Galactic Double Daisy Cutter, by comparison, seemed to have a little something "extra" (what it was, I do not know) to bridge that "flavor gap." Still a really delicious beer, but that flavor gap gap leaves you wanting something a little more -- and that something keeps this beer at the level of very good instead of truly great. Finishes with a fresh, piney grapefruit flavor. Quite a drinkable, refreshing beer! 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied, medium carbonation. Juicy, oily mouthfeel. Savory, bitter finish. A little more carbonation might have been nice to perk the hops a little more, but the beer was certainly appropriately carbonated for the "juicy" profile. 4/5

Overall: A beer on the precipe of greatness. If Half Acre could solve the flavor gap with this (and regular Daisy Cutter), this could be a world class beer. That is just me being a bit overly critical, however. Irrespective of my criticism, this is a truly delicious imperial pale ale (slash IIPA) that should be sought out fresh. Certainly worth the $12 bucks a bottle it'll cost you after tax.

Recommendation: Beer geeks, fans of Daisy Cutter and IPA lovers should seek this beer out. it's not a hop bomb, but it is a really balanced, citrusy beer that should have some mass appeal to it.

Pairings: Mexican food. Particularly a steak burrito.

Cost: $10 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.