Bear Republic Apex Double IPA

Had some lunch at Beachwood BBQ today. Started off with a nice refreshing saison- Lost Abbey Carnivale which is light and has a nice Belgian yeast phenolic taste to it. Still one of my favorite saisons. After that I tried the Bear Republic Apex double IPA. This beer took home the bronze at the biggest and best DIPA festival- the Bistro Double IPA Fest- last month. If it was blindly judged to be better than Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Ruination, Pure Hoppiness, and Hop Stoopid then I had to try it (none of those beers got gold or silver).

This beer pours a clear orange (it's actually a smidge lighter and clearer than the low quality Blackberry picture indicates) and has a really nice pungent but delicate fresh hop pellet type aroma. The smell gives off the impression of amazing hop freshness, although it doesn't burst from the glass like crazy. The taste is in one word "tasty." The hops don't blow you away and the bitterness is very low. But you do get a real nice smooth hop flavor out of this, and that hop flavor is very juicy. I think I've described a few beers as having a juicy taste to it, a couple of those being Alpha King pale ale, O'Brien's IPA. It's a solid combination of sweetness and citrusy hops I think. That Apex was very good overall in flavor, but if you're looking for a hop kick in the ass it may not do as good of job as a Green Flash Imperial IPA or Pure Hoppiness.