SLO Brewing XXXTriple IPA

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Had a pint of this at O'Brien's last night, while hanging out with Richard, his buds from work, and Ron and his family. This is something I had never heard of before, but then again, SLO has always been a bit "beneath my radar", beer-wise. Not bad, just not well advertised or distributed. Leave it Tom Nickles to track down yet another big-ass hop-monster for his pub, eh? :)

My first impression wasn't all that positive, to be honest. Decent appearence and aroma, but a rather "odd" flavor profile, that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Maybe Richard had it right, with wondering if this is made with all-too much in the way of Nobel Hops? Regardless, this beer took some getting used to, to be honest.

But once I got acclimated to this beer, it's standing improved a bit, IMHO. Still a bit quirky and unworkable, compared to Stone's Ruination, Moylan's Double IPA, Marin's White Knuckle, and Alpine's Pure Hoppines and Exponential Hoppiness, but interesting and satisfying enough to not easily dismiss.

The jury is still out, IMO, but for the time being, I can give this beer a tentative "thumbs up".
//TB