Road 2 Ruin DIPA

Road 2 Ruin Double IPA
Six Pack for $9.99, 7.2% ABV

Purchased at some store, Simsbury

2RoadsSince I’ve been spending a few sentences on the Two Roads beer names in the other reviews, I might as well dissect this one as well. Road 2 Ruin. My dad was a Southern Baptist (he still is, but has mellowed with age) and he would assuredly read the name of this beer very differently than anyone reading this page.

For he thinks that alcohol – all alcohol – is certainly the “Road to ruin.” He firmly believes one sip pretty much guarantees Satan will enter your heart and mind and before you know what’s hit you, you will be a full-fledged alcoholic destined for a horrible, horrible death by cirrhosis followed by an eternal life in a lake of sulphurous hellfire.

For real.

Since I am fully confident there is no such things as Satan or Hell, I bought a six-pack of this DIPA, fully intending on drinking it myself. (Because as everyone knows, atheists never share.)

Two Roads Says:
A big, hoppy IPA with plenty of bite! Our assertive, hop-centric Double IPA has a lean malt backdrop and is brewed with four American hop varieties – Summit, Palisade, Cascade and Magnum. Piney, citrus, floral, not-for-the-timid!

Hm. The DIPAs I like have higher ABV and much, much more of everything: More hoppiness, more bite, more bitterness, more pine, more citrus. Having now had the full complement of Two Roads beers, I’m sensing a trend.

Ignoring their excellent limited release barrel aged stout, their other offerings all seem to fit in the following category:

Often distinct styles (DIPA, Saison, Pils) with a slight tweak (extra malt, dry-hopped, etc) that is the “road not taken” from the brewer’s perspective. And I think that is a great unifying idea. And I’m quite certain it will work well for Two Roads.

But it doesn’t really work for me. I like my DIPAs to taste like a DIPA. Not an IPA with a little malt and perhaps a tiny bit more hoppiness. I want pine and citrus and a hop punch in the mouth that only lingers as bitterness for a short while. This is a good IPA. It is only average as a DIPA.

tumblr_mlq6daddyv1qdqya3o1_500I’m reminded of an old review I did on these pages for the worst “CT” IPA I’ve had – the Hartford Better Beer Co’s Arch IPA

They too boast about the beer’s extremely extreme hop bang in your face.. The Arch IPA has none. The Road 2 Ruin certainly has some – but not as much as I like in a DIPA. These descriptions would have worked maybe 15 years ago, but not anymore with well-balanced stupid hoppy beers on the market.

My word, I’m rambling about the same thing. You probably want to hear more about my childhood, right?

We were not allowed to go to movies on Sundays. A woman’s place is in the home. The husband is the head of the household and his decision is always final. Rock and Roll was the devil’s music. (We kept our 80’s rap fandom on the Walkman). Dancing? What’s that?

All that is absolutely true but I should make the point here that I had a wonderful childhood, thanks to my older brother and thanks to growing up in a close-knit neighborhood with lots and lots of kids my age.

I didn’t drink a drop until I was over 21. (And I was always perfectly okay with that.)

Also, I began questioning “faith” and supernaturalism when I was around 11 or so. I realized it was all nonsense by 15 or so. And completely stopped pretending I even cared to pretend to believe in Bronze Age myths by the time I went to college. I’ve had the Out Campaign’s scarlet A at the bottom of CTMQ for as long as the campaign existed.

Tangential enough for you? Anyone want to tell me I’m on the Road 2 Ruin? If I am, please pave it with more hops, thanks.

I should note that Two Roads just released a straight up IPA to go with their White IPA and this DIPA. I’ll be curious to maybe try the IPA and DIPA side by side.

Overall Rating: B-
Rating vs. Similar style: C

Beer Advocate’s Reviews of Road 2 Ruin DIPA
Two Roads Brewing Company
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