Double IPA - Tasting

I brewed this Double IPA about a month and a half ago and have been drinking it for the last couple weeks.  It smelled so great going into bottles that I couldn't resist drinking several during that first week of bottle conditioning.  I have been drinking several of these a week since.

It's a terrific beer.  The hop character is intense.  I was a bit skeptical that the amount of hops being used were really being put to good effect.  Still not 100% sure about that but it is one of the hoppiest beers I've ever had.  If (or "when" most likely) I make this beer again I wouldn't do anything differently on the hopping though.

In the two weeks I've been drinking this beer I wouldn't say that the hops have fallen off in any substantial way.  They may have mellowed very slightly and the aroma is probably not quite as intense as it has been but it's still a major assault of hops on the palate.  Now seems like a good time to put together some tasting notes for the beer.

I ended up drinking two in one night once and the 8% ABV took it's toll.  It's a palate wrecker but it's so easy drinking - dangerous stuff.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Heavy hop aroma.  Citrus fruit dominates along with a bit of pine aroma.  I'm not sure I can really pick out any yeast or malt character past the hops.  It's really great smelling beer.  The aroma was even more profound a couple weeks back.
• Appearance:
• Copper colored.  Pours with about a finger of head that quickly fades to a thin layer of foam.  Leaves lacing down the glass.  The beer is pretty cloudy.
• Flavor:
• Up front the flavor is primarily fruity hops.  They seem to impart a sweetness to the beer.  It has an extremely rich and full hoppy flavor (pine, citrus fruit, maybe some melon, and a dank earthiness are all in the mix).  There is a firm bitterness to the finish but it comes along with the fruity sweet hops that linger which seems to give it some balance.  Like with the aroma, I can't really pick out any contributions from the malt or yeast - they are either very well integrated or overwhelmed by the hops.
• Mouthfeel:
• It is medium bodied.  Has a dry finish.  The strong hop flavors linger on the palate for quite some time.  Pretty smooth and easy drinking for a really bitter high alcohol beer.
• Overall:
• Without question this is the best beer I have made so far.  The hop character is fantastic.  It seems that the complex hop schedule delivered a beer that has an equally complex range of hop flavors.  It's really surprising how easy drinking a beer this big and this bitter can be.  I would say the beer is a reasonable match for some of the best commercial Double IPA that I've had and better than some very good ones.  I've gone through about half the batch so far.  It will be interesting to see how the character changes as it ages and the hops start to mellow a bit more.