Bell's The Oracle DIPA Ale
Our take on the West Coast-style Double India Pale Ale, The Oracle places hop intensity first & foremost, making only the slightest concession to malt & balance. The fireworks start with the floral aromatic punch of two separate dry-hop sessions with Amarillo and NZ Pacific Jade. Resinous, citrusy hop flavors mixed with aggressive bitterness from a massive kettle addition deliver on that aromatic promise.
3.9
798 reviews
Comstock, United States
Community reviews
Had this on draft at Bronx Ale House in, where else, the Bronx. I confess I'm a huge fan of Bell's so I admit bias, but I try to say what I see, taste, and smell objectively and THEN give my opinion.
Oddly, I don't find this beer boozy as many say here. If I find the aroma rather subtle and mild with a very slight mix of orange and grapefruit with the orange slight more pronounced.
It has a deep orange color and came with a disappearing head (after about 20 minutes). I also didn't find the 90 IBU a justified score. I also didn't find the really bitter after taste but found it had a slight and rather sweet aftertaste.
I'm a stout and porter person. I've started getting into others such as IPAs and DIPAs. While I may not like some of them, I can appreciate the artistry.
Given my comments about this, I like it as DIPAs go.
Draft served in 10oz snifter. The color was a cloudy orange gold with a thick off-white head that has great retention and leaves interesting lace patterns. The floral aroma is backed up with resinous citrus and pine notes. It has a very strong finish. Very nice.
The Oracle has a thin-to-medium, off-white head, a somewhat opaque, gold-orange appearance, with lazy, ascending bubbles and not much glass lacing. Aroma is not so strong, but one can detect rather bold pale malt and hop resin. The flavor is of a burst of intense hop bitterness and white bread crust. Mouthfeel is high medium, and The Oracle finishes drying and bitter. RJT
Orange, light beige head. Huge hops, almost astringent. Dry, lingering bitterness. Alcohol reasonably well hidden.
Hazy amber.
Full body, smooth texture, intensely flavorful, hot and well carbonated mouthfeel, lingering aftertaste.
Bitter, dry, crisp.
Intensely hoppy, greens, phenolic notes.
Just as they say, hops are the important thing.
On tap at Max’s Taphouse, pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma brings out resinous hops, pithy stone fruits and toasted caramel. Flavour is robust, with rich, bitter resinous hops, some bitter pine, and toasted biscuity malt. Bitter but tastefully so. Can’t believe I hadn’t had this until now. Excellent.
Not tropical. Not fruit-forward. And not apologizing for it. You really don't need an Oracle to tell you that this beer is going to cold clock your ass. And it does. And I'm loving it. A huge traditional resiny DIPA that pours on the IBUs and the malty caramel backbone to match. Seriously bitter, lightly abrasive, but the sweet malts are epic and pull it back towards balance. Nice stinging hop finish. Also a pretty beer with tons of scattered lace lining the glass in which resides a clear light amber dominator of palates. Real real nice.
Powerful DIPA, unabashedly bitter and dense, treading close to barleywine territory in its thick caramel malts and resinous, intense hopping. Grapefruit, orange, and pine roll into a peppery mineral bitterness, backed by hints of earth and dank. Finishes boozy and firm, with a lasting hop bite mixed with alcohol warmth. A giant IPA, but a well-made one, reminiscent of Ruination 1.0 or Dreadnaught, only with a heavier malt presence. Lovely orange-gold pour with a thin white head and infinite lacing. Texture's full-bodied, with just enough heat to remind you of the ABV. Pine, caramel, dates, and citrus on the nose. Tasty.
Currently my favorite beer!! Enticing aroma and nice dark gold color. The flavor profile is exceptional, deep bitter hoppy explosion. Citrus with a biting piney hit. Slight malt taste, just enough to know it’s in there.
light malty aroma. gold and lightly hazy in color with massive long lasting head. taste is of pine, light resin, nice underlying malt notes
Since this is a DIPA, I wasn't expecting the aroma to be raisins and plums! Slightly hazy amber yellow with a foamy white head. More juicy fruit flavors follow with plums, pineapple and mango. Lots of caramel and butterscotch sweetness balance by a deep vegetal bitterness with flashes of citrus and grass. I would have guessed this to be a barleywine by the flavor and the specs seem to say that it could be. Finishes with loads of caramel and thick but not biting bitterness. A dessert beer for hopheads.
Bottle - Crown Liquors: 2016 Release. Green earthy aroma with a clear gold color. Syrupy smooth feel. Super tasty.
Golden orange with a short-lived two finger fluffy white head and excellent lace. Big pine resin hop aromas accompanied by earth, caramel and toffee. Flavors follow, as malty, almost syrupy, sweetness is offset by the floral and pine hop bitterness. Full body, generous carbonation, creamy smooth mouthfeel and a lingering rich hoppiness in the finish.
From a bottle. Pours a hazy gold and makes a 2 finger head. Aroma is of caramel, hops, pine resin. Tastes of hops, citrus, and a bit of malt.
Pours a hazy bright rust orange with light white head. A tropical fruit and malt aroma. A malt forward taste with tropical fruit, caramel, malts and some citrus hops. A strong bitter hoo and malt aftertaste.
Golden with a large white sudsy and lacing head. Aggressive fresh hopped (approaching dank), earthy and lingering. Strong malt backbone. Strong earthy hop aroma.
Notes: On tap at One Mile House NYC (Dec ’16)
Half pint at the brewery. strange to taste NZ hops in the Hop country, but this is fine.
Bottle. Pours a hazy tan orange color. Full frothy head. Aroma is floral resinous hops. Medium heavy body. Medium heavy bitterness with big bold malt background. Seems like a barley wine/dipa hybrid or something. It’s a big beer and a hop mouthfull. Good but not great.
Pours golden, white foam. Aroma is resiny, with some honey and just smells bitter. Taste is intense, very dense with resins, hop oils and I don’t know how many IBU’s. Long resiny finish, lingers for long. Bitter and dry. Drinks surprisingly easy, could drink a pint of it - but look at the abv!
Massive resin hoppy nose with apricots, bready, with citrus rinds. Big malty backbone, so rounded, big bready. Big resiny character. Excellent lingering finish. Fantastic.
Pours cloudy copper color with foamy white head. Aroma is sticky sweet caramel with pineapple and dried papaya. Some alcohol aroma and floral notes. Thick syrupy mouth feel. Flavor is fruity up front with pineapple and caramel followed by citrus flavors and grapefruit. Finishes grapefruit rind and sticky pine resin. Big, big bitterness in finish. Leaves my tongue tingling.
My 1400th rating. 12 ounce bottle. Pours a hazy Amber orange color topped by a small creamy white head that disapates quickly. Nose is fragrant hops and alcohol. First sip is intense bitter hops. Huge pine and resiny notes. Wow, what a hop bomb! Where is the malt? As the brew warms, the alcohol and malt become more present. Notes of burnt sugar, grapefruit rind and Angostura bitters. As the beer warms, an underlying syrupy cognac-like goodness surfaces. An amazing ale. Go get one!
Bottle from West Side. Pours a hazy late summer’s gold color with almost no head. Lots of honey, orange zest and bready malt on the nose. Syrupy body with orange marmalade, honey and fresh-baked bread on the palate. Boozy, sweet and heavy with a strongly bitter (almost astringent) finish. Too much malt and not enough hop finesse to compete with the best in the new wave.
Bottle. Bready malt aroma with notes of floral and pine resiny hops as well as a bit of earthiness. Pours cloudy copper colored with a large tan head that has good retention and some lacing. Starts with a little bit of bready malt before huge pine resiny hop flavors take over. Finishes very dry with bitter floral and earthy pine resiny hops dominating and coating the palate so the flavor stays with you past the end of the sip. Aggressive and quite bitter, but still quite good.
12 oz bottle. Bottled 07/26/16. (Bell’s) Kalamazoo, MI.
Slightly cloudy golden color with a small white head.
Tangerine, citrus, pineapple, fruity hops, mild bitterness, fruity sweetness, cookies and malt in the aroma. Yummy!
The flavor is much darker hops, resin and fruits, strong bitterness and sweet caramel malt. Balanced.
Hazy copperish golden with a thin sticky white head. Big hoppy nose that’s earthy and grassy and floral and hugely pithy bitter. Big bitter and resiny dank flavor that’s pithy as hell, loaded with pine and floral resins, and a warm boozy but bitter earthy finish. Light pale malt throughout just to balance but begrudgingly so.
12 oz bottle. Pours a hazy copper color with moderate head. Aromas of bready malts and floral pine. Flavors ares malt forward, bready and somewhat sweet, with a bit of bitter citrus and piney finish. Maybe somewhat old as bottled in 2015. But I don’t mind a chewy malty DIPA. Very nice
Draft at County Grill. Hazy, yellow-orange. Overall, I’d label this as woodsy and even a bit spongy. It’s exceptionally acidic, and aggressively bitter, indeed. (#6380, 10/26/2016)
Pours cloudy orange amber with low white head. Aroma of resin, grapefruit, light caramel. Taste is rich resin bitter with a mild grapefruit bitter finish. Light to medium bodied and smooth with soft carbonation.
A really nice DIPA. Tropical and pine, but mostly citrus. Grapefruity and sweet bread.