Three Sheets Brewing “Slight Delay” Double IPA, Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada (Alcohol 8%) Select LCBOs, licensees, and brewery Approx $4.95 (473ml can)
One evening last month I had asked my wife if she would pick me up a couple of stronger beers from Justin’s Oven as she was picking up our regular Friday night pizzas. She returned with a few cans of this Double IPA from Port Elgin’s reasonably new Three Sheets Brewery, and a few hours later I was most undeniably three sheets to the proverbial wind; Double IPAs are never really for the faint of palate and/or constitution, as this example was certainly no exception. 8% alcohol is not to be sniffed at, and one can counts as 2.22 standard drinks, which is more than one is supposed to drink in a week according to new Canadian guidelines. One single can!
That particular evening I enjoyed four of these. I’m guessing that makes me irresponsible? Anyway… back to the beer…
It pours a lovely apricot yellow with a serious haze and a yellowish moderately sized head. If one tips the bottom of the can into the glass one will fine considerable particulate, making the beer almost milky-looking. At this point I usually pass, as beers like this have historically triggered the odd gout attack, however I could not resist, as the nose was simply gorgeous.
On the pronounced bouquet I get loads of roasted pineapple, almost like a pineapple upside-down cake, but saying that it is decidedly hop-centric, with seriously assertive hoppy aromatics, thiols giving a fair bit of passion fruit character with a citrus hit. The palate is wonderfully creamy, and reminds me somewhat of some of those “creamsicle” beers I usually shy away from. The 8% alcohol sits rather nicely amongst the bitter hops in the mouth, dangerously so actually, as it’s a very easy drinking beer and fantastically balanced. The strong citrus/pine finish is pleasantly persistent.
The Slight Delay is certainly one of the better Double IPAs I’ve tasted in quite some time.
Just be sure to consume it in moderation.
