Otter Creek/Lawson’s Finest Liquids Double Dose

When I started writing this blog I found that social media was a great way to connect with brewers and breweries, as well as other beer writers and enthusiasts. Twitter in particular has been a great medium to share my work and to find other blogs to read. It has also been a great way to find out news about new beers, special events and trends in the industry. Twitter was the first place I heard the term “unicorn beer”, designated for highly rated but hard-to-find special releases. I don’t end up drinking very many unicorn beers, mostly due to my unwillingness to drive for hours or stand in line for the sole purpose of buying a particular beer. This brings me to another advantage of social media, I’ve been clued in from Twitter followers when rare beers come to town, and where I can find them. This happened recently with Double Dose, the once-a-year double IPA brewed by Otter Creek and Lawson’s Finest Liquids of Vermont. While Otter Creek beers are widely available (and very good in their own right), you can only get beers from Lawson’s in VT, so it is a rare treat to find this collaboration beer at a local store. Double Dose is currently available in 4 packs of 12 oz bottles and on draft, I recommend grabbing some if you find it, it won’t be around for long!

Otter Creek/Lawson’s Finest Liquids Double Dose pours a deep orange, slightly hazy with a mild white head. The smell is a huge burst of hops, tons of tropical and citrus fruit. This beer might have the best nose of any IPA I’ve ever tasted. The hops rule the flavor too, significant grapefruit, lemon and resin followed by a little mango and passion fruit. The hop flavor is accompanied by the tongue-numbing bitterness you expect from a double IPA. While Double Dose is a very hop-forward beer, there is enough malt in the backbone to add a little balance. This is also a pretty big beer at 8.5% ABV, and you get just a hint of warming alcohol as you drink. For a big beer it is very drinkable, and finishes with a  pleasant bitter bite on the tongue. This beer is awesome, as soon as I finished my first bottle I wished I bought more than a 4-pack, but I will make sure I track more down before it’s gone. Hoppy Boston score: 5.0/5.

Previous Otter Creek Reviews:

Otter Creek Fresh Slice, Otter Creek Citra Mantra, Otter Creek Kind Ryed