Adroit Theory This Time You Should Believe the Hype
I’ve got a buddy at work that is a member of Adroit Theory’s Black Heart Society — limited access to one-off brews and stuff like that. He’s not a huge IPA fan, though he’s been drinking more of them. So when this 10% ABV imperial IPA with the name of “This Time You Should Believe the Hype” became available, he passed a bottle along to me. I, of course, thanked him for his generosity and gladly accepted the offering.
“Adroit Theory This Time You Should Believe the Hype” is a big, hoppy brew that focuses on the use of an unnamed New Zealand variety. The beer also has a huge malt presence which, for me anyways, takes this away from the IPA realm and more into an American strong ale region. Regardless of what this beer should be classified as, it’s still a damn fine beer — probably my favorite from the company thus far.
Appearance
The brew pours a dark, rusty copper in color with no head, just a thin ring around the surface.
Aroma
The aroma is malt forward with bread, caramel and a soft toast. Latent pine and some stone fruits make up the rest.
Taste
There’s definitely more hop character on the tongue, but still not in an imperial IPA sense. The combined flavors give the beer more of an American strong ale or even barleywine like nature. That said, it’s still quite good. It’s boozy with a decent malt backbone, moderate sweetness, pine and a solid hop bite with hints of toffee in the background. The medium bodied brew ends with a drying finish.
Overall
This is a big beer for sure, but as stated a few times above, it’s not an imperial IPA. Everything I taste in here smacks of strong ale, and a good one at that.
Rating: 4/5
