• Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
• Country: USA
• Style: Imperial IPA
• ABV: 9.5 %
• Size: 650 ml
• Bought from: Gift from my sister (bought in San Francisco)
• Beer Advocate
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My sister brought home a threesome of Firestone Walker beers from San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, of which I’ve already had the Union Jack IPA (reviewed last summer already, so didn’t bother re-reviewing it). The Union Jack is one the tastiest, if not the tastiest, beer I’ve ever had, so am really looking forward to try the Imperial version of it. The bottle is quite fresh, about 3 months old, so the majority of the hoppy goodness should be intact. The beer is brewed with American 2-row, Munich and Light Crystal malt, and has been hopped with Warrior, Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo and Simcoe to an IBU of around 100. The original gravity of the beer should have been around 1.087, while the final gravity is around 1.015 (giving an ABV of 9.5%). The beer has been fermented with an English ale yeast. Hopefully this one is as good as the Union Jack!

[easyreview title=”Firestone Walker Double Jack” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a golden-orange color and a slight off-white oily head, that collapses leaving some lacing and foam islands.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is very hoppy, featuring floral and citrusy tones, drawing towards grapefruit, lime, pineapple, resin and tropical fruits. There is a slight caramelly sweetness behind all the hops, as well as some minimal alcohol notes. Fantastic aroma!” cat2rating=”4.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with the slightest caramelly notes, but it quickly becomes evident that this beer is all about the hops. The flavor is full of citrusy, fruity and resiny hop tones, which balance perfectly with the slight maltiness that’s also present. The hop tones begin with some grapefruit, lime and tangerine, but move on to the resiny and piney territory, where they are joined by a smooth bitterness and a quite dry aftertaste. The flavors are fantastically balanced, as the bitterness, which does not at all feel like 100 IBU, is paired with the slightly sweet, caramelly and honey-like malt backbone and the bucket-loads of hop flavor. This surpasses Union Jack as the best tasting beer I’ve ever had.” cat3rating=”5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body and medium-low carbonation level, and because of the balance it is fantastically easy to drink.” cat4rating=”4.5″ cat5title=”Overall” cat5detail=”Just wow. Firestone Walker really know how to brew IPAs (and they are known for their dark beers as well). This beer is full-packed with citrusy and resiny hop flavors and aroma, that are perfectly balanced with a slight malt backbone and a smooth bitterness. The beer is easy to drink as well for such a strong ale. Still have the Double Barrel Ale left, that I’m looking forward to trying as well. If you ever get the chance to try this, do try. Shame I probably won’t get to try this again in a long time.” cat5rating=”5″ overall=”false”]