R2R
comes from the Two Roads Brewing Co. of Stratford, Connecticut. It’s a
heftily-weighted Double India sold in snazzy packaging that features,
among other things, a snake bearing a hop.
The
beer inside is emboldened by the judicious use of seven strains of
hops. It has a a slightly hazy copper cast and pours with a lush layer
of off-white suds. A nicely rounded aroma has fruit notes vined around
some darkly floral notes and a splash of sweetness. For so strong an
ale, the flavour is uncharacteristically mild, with stone fruit notes up
front and a slightly bitter backing band to close it out.
To
my birthday-addled mind, this beer was alarmingly approachable for an
8% ale. There are no real warning signs once the beer is poured of the
boozy might, which is both an exercise in brewing skill and a risky
little game. One could very well up in ill-intentioned ruin by following
this Road. Given the hops braggadocio declaimed on the 4-pack I
purchased, I expected R2R to bitter my timbers. However, while
undeniably well-healed in booze, I found the IBU count surprisingly low
on palate if not on paper. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it
did leave me clamouring for hops bops.
My
expectations were not entirely met by R2R. However, what I ended up with
was a delightfully quaffable strong ale, rich in flavour but subtle in
zeal. So where does that leave us? Would I buy Road 2 Ruin again?
Absolutely! Would I recommend it? Ditto. But it’d come with a healthy
caveat that it is deceptive and duplicitous. A good beer with a hidden
bite. I’m also a sucker for excellent packaging, and this stuff was
wrapped up real nice.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
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