Knee Deep Simtra Triple IPA – Snobby Beer Written Reviews

Knee Deep Simtra Triple IPA. 11.25% ABV.

APPEARANCE

Classic IPA. Orange-yellow color, slightly hazy, sits under a nice head that is almost pure white, good lacing throughout, and just enough bubbliness to make me salivate. A beer that looks like this is not looking to go home alone if you know what I mean.

SMELL

The beer is a pretty harmonious mix between Simcoe and Citra (go figure), though I think the Simcoe is a bit more pronounced. It brings the usual dank basement, and the Citra provides the tropical fruity goodness that we all know and love. Pineapple, mango, tangerine, etc. There is a slight grain note and almost no alcohol. Sumthin’ tells me that this beer’s gonna be hoppy on the tongue…

TASTE

…And it is! Simcoe is once again the dominant hop character, bringing that deep dank flavor that I can only describe as a humid sweaty basement, but not in a bad way. The Citra character is less pronounced and very missed. The wonderful tropical fruit flavors are not as present as I was hoping. Right after the swallow, there’s an astringent “cat piss” flavor that a lot of people go nuts over. I used to dig it, but not so much in this beer. It also kind of has a garlic tinge right at the end, but I seem to be ultra sensitive to that flavor so it’s quite possible that other people won’t get it. It sort of lingers on the tongue as a grassy bitterness, which is really neither good nor bad. Overall this beer is mostly pleasant other than that cat piss, and I would have loved to get more Citra character.

MOUTHFEL

I always get worried about huge IPAs like this. “Why not just call them an American barley wine?”, I shout to the heavens. The response is generally crickets, or in some cases the bartender giving me the boot. That being said, this beer is definitely NOT a barley wine. There’s no struggle to drink this (save the cat piss flavor). I would peg this beer closer to the 8-9% range & certainly not 11.25%. In other words, this beer is slightly dangerous. There is a nice amount of lingering bitterness leftover, which coats the mouth in pleasant hop resin. There is a decent amount of malt to back it up, but it’s nowhere near anything that could be considered “malty” – which is a good thing if you ask me! IPAs oughtta be crisp and bitter, and a lotta these breweries try to delve into the “triple IPA” style and end up with a damn barley wine. This beer ain’t no damn barley wine.

OVERALL

A good beer, but slightly disappointing. Simcoe and Citra are hops that people go Lady Gaga over, and while they play nicely together the Simcoe ultimately takes over. And, let’s face it, Citra is where my heart truly lies. This is a tease of a beer that ends with “-tra”. They should change the name to “SIMtra”, y’know, so people know what to expect. All that crap being said – is it worth drinking? Absolutely! I would definitely drink this beer again. But I would also hope the next time round they make this beer into a “simTRA”, if you know what I mean.

SCORE: ★★★ 3/5