Double IPA - Take 2 - Tasting

I can't believe it's been two months since I bottled up this beer.  This was intended to be a Pliny the Elder clone.  I normally would have done the tasting of big hoppy beer like this much sooner but I've been occupied with other things.  Fortunately, I've found that the beer held up quite a bit better than I assumed it would.  Even two months old it's still very hoppy with no sign of oxidation.

The beer was meant to end up less than 8% ABV.  My efficiency was higher than expected so I got
9.3%.  The higher alcohol may have impacted the remaining yeast because the beer never really carbonated which was a tiny disappointment every time I opened one.  This couldn't help but detract slightly from my enjoyment of the beer.

I put a lot of money into the hops used for this beer so the expectations were high.  I think it delivered the goods for the most part.  I was lucky enough to stumble onto some authentic Pliny the Elder this weekend and thought my version, although quite a bit uglier, tasted quite a bit better - so that's something at least.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Citrusy and Piney hops are the most prominent aroma.  Was quite a bit more prominent when this was younger.  Some nice sweet caramel malt comes through as well.  It's a rich smelling beer.  No yeast character an no alcohol on the nose.
• Appearance:
• Barely any head even after an aggressive pour.  Dark copper color and very murky.
• Flavor:
• Hops are the dominant flavor beginning to finish.  Up front the hops hit immediately.  It's an indistinctly fruity hop flavor primarily.  The finish has strong bitter kick along with the other hop flavors.  Also has a bit of malt sweetness coming through.  It's a strong beer and there's definitely a bit of alcohol presence in the flavor.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium bodied.  Has a slight astringency to the bitterness.  Slightly sweet - leave a bit of a sticky feeling in the mouth.  Definitely has a warming alcohol presence.
• Overall:
• I think this is a really nice tasting beer.  It really delivered the goods in terms of hop flavor - especially young but even at a couple months old.  I am a bit disappointed about how ugly the beer looks.  I was hoping for a slightly clearer product and definitely wanted it to carbonate.  Neither of these impact the flavor though so they're not really that big of a deal.  I like the recipe enough to try something based on it again in the future - maybe once I start kegging.  I do wonder if I reached diminishing returns on the hopping for this one.  May see if I can cut back a little.