Beer Review: Exponential Hoppiness

Reviewing the Exponential Hoppiness from Alpine Beer Company out of California. Thank you BeerAdvocate user bpfrush for hooking me up with this highly hyped beer!
Score: 91

No bottling date, but this specific bottle is from the 01/27/12 release. Served in a Half Acre tulip and enjoyed on 02/26/12. This is a backlogged review from a beer tasting I hosted on Oscar night.

Appearance: Pours a largely translucent honey color with three fingers of foamy off-white head that settles into a foggy cap over three quarters of the top of the beer and a ring around the glass. Excellent lacing and retention. There is none of that signature "floating flakiness" in the beer that I have come to associate with Alpine IPAs. 4/5

Smell: Zesty grapefruit, mango, fresh pine and a touch of honey. Fresh tropical citrus and a light alcohol ester. Spice, oak and some herbal hops. There's a malty orange juice aroma too. 4/5

Taste: Pine, oak, earthy hops and fresh tangerine/mango. There's an "earthy" and oaky alcohol booziness on the midpalate. Malty orange juice backbone. Lots of barley malt and some smooth caramel throughout as well. Not very bitter. Juicy, "earthy" and "oaky" are the adjectives that primarily define this brew. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium-light carbonation. Oily mouthfeel. Dry, malty finish. 4/5

Overall: A maltier-than-bitter IIPA that is overrated. Certainly a tasty imperial IPA offering that is worth trying, but is it a "world class" beer? Absolutely not. Of all the beers in the world, even among the IPA's that Alpine makes, Exponential Hoppiness is easily the silliest beer for a brewer to throw a temper tantrum over seeing a growler of it appear on eBay. Alpine Nelson was a much better beer in my opinion.

Recommendation: Beer geeks and IPA lovers should seek this beer out with tempered expectations. Casual beer drinkers can avoid this one.

Pairings: Oven-roasted lamb. Maybe something like this.

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