SuperCollider 2.0 Double IPA

There aren't many Ontario beers that hit triple digits on the IBU scale, but SuperCollider 2.0 Double IPA is one of the few that reaches that height of bitterness, checking in at 102 IBUs and a liver-pummeling 10.4% alcohol. Brewed in Barrie, ON, by the delightful eccentrics at Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, SC2 is sold in loud 473mL cans that are reminiscent of the lurid holographic labels that adorned the bottles of version 1.0.

The beer inside the can poured with a surprising clarity--an amber liquid topped with roiling cream suds. As one would expect, the nose is "bigly" bitter, with swirling notes of citrus and sweet. The flavour begins with a pushy gust of tangy grapefruit, but this is set off against a heavy dose of boozy sweetness. By the time the beer stumbles across the finish line, the citrus notes are more tangerine-y, and the warm sweetness of the alcohol actually picks up steam. The large hops bill lasts from dawn to dusk.

SuperCollider 2.0 has a lot of commendable attributes--it's strong as hell, packs loads of hops, and it has a relatively complicated flavour profile. On the other side of the ledger, its too damned sweet! I know that sweetness tends to increase with alcoholic strength, but this stuff could really use something to thin out its saccharine side. The sweetness makes drinking the warmer half of a 473mL portion a bit more daunting than need be. All in all, SC2 is a delightful brew--immodest and almost unreasonable ... in a good way! Would buy again.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.