Deuce Coupe DIPA by Garage Brewing Co. will be evaluated against BJCP category 22a. Basically what we are looking for is “an intensely hoppy, fairly strong pale ale without the big, rich, complex maltiness and residual sweetness and body of an American Barleywine. Strongly hopped, but clean, dry, and lacking harshness. Drinkability is an important characteristic; this should not be a heavy, sipping beer.”

The aroma on this beer is very pleasant. The hops are bright and inviting with a lot of juicy citrus, low resinous pine, and a moderate amount of tropical mango. The malt profile is clean and bready with a hint of toast. It’s happy to take a backseat to the hop aroma. I do get a low level of spicy alcohol in the aroma as well. The color is gold and crystal clear. It pours a tight ivory white head with very good retention. The flavor pretty much mirrors the aroma. The hop flavor takes center stage and is citrusy with topical mango, the resinous pine comes through in the finish. The malt again lays back from the hops, but it’s enjoyable and toasty. Deuce Coupe is not overly bitter, but the hop bitterness is moderate. There must be a lot of late addition or dry hops in the process. Which is welcome in this style. The beer finishes dry and is easily drinkable. However, for a double IPA, I would expect a bit more hop punch than what I get. But it’s very close. It’s medium bodied, fairly creamy, with a modest level of carbonation. Thankfully it’s not over hopped so there is no hop astringency. Overall, I think for a Double IPA it’s a bit on the lower end of the scale as far as complexity and hop punch goes, but extremely enjoyable and drinkable. The hops were bright and evident just more to the IPA level than Double IPA level.