Bellwoods Witchshark Imperial IPA

Intensely hoppy American style Imperial/Double IPA. Tropical fruit aroma with a well-balanced bitterness showcasing flavours of mango, grapefruit and pine.

Yeast: American Ale

Hop: Columbus, Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial

Malt: Pale, Vienna, Crystal

3.9

162 reviews

Toronto, Canada

Community reviews

4.0 Pint can from Bellwoods. Clousy orange pour. Whiff of bright hops come first - would have guessed there was Eldorado in here - with a sturdier malt backbone or perhaps a touch more age than with Street Shark. A touch less juicy and bright, but still very good. Pineapple, grapefruit and earth.

4.7 Witchshark sets the bar for DIPAs IMO.

3.6 A 500ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass. A lightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing. Aromas of tropical mango, peach and pine with a herbal element. Tastes bitter, earthy, dank, pine, herbal, peppery with only hints of pineapple. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall not as juicy as I expected based on the nice aromas. It was still good to drink, but I definitely preferred the aroma.

3.7 500ml bottle (thx, Chris S.!). Pours a hazy golden with a white head. Aroma is slightly dank, some tropical fruits. Taste is similar with some tropical fruits and piney notes. Quite good.

3.9 Bottle. Many Many Times. Pours foggy dark honey with a short creamy head. Decent soapy lace. Lots of honey, wood, cedar, grapefruit, with tangerine and peach. This is lovely. Although very sweet. Not nearly as medicinal as some of the 9% IIPAs out there. Heavily toasted cracker malt, and traces of earth round out the depth. A little sticky through the finish. Probably shouldn’t be drinking this on a 28C day. Despite it’s softness in the style, it still manages to hide the alcohol well. I’d have figured this was in the 7% range, tops. I’ve had Witchshark dozens of times (tap/bottle). It seems to have become extremely reliable from batch to batch. Some can be a little harsh, some are a touch sweet (this one), but they’re always really dangerously good.

3.8 Tap at the Brewpub, Toronto, 12th July 17. Pours clear and an apricot colour. Aroma is fruity, citrus, pine. Taste is clean and bitter, citrus and pith, some sweetness, good, but I was hoping for more.

3.4 Keg at Brother’s Beer Bistro, Ottawa. Lightly hazy golden, mid sized head. Rich lychee and grapefruit aroma. Mid dry with medium-full body and dense, rounded mouthfeel. Lychee and citrus, light notes of syrup. Mid bitter finish. Well balanced.

4.0 This is a serious beer! Careful with this one you’ll be on the floor in no time.

3.8 Pour on tap at the brewery, hazy orange pour with white head, aroma brought notes of caramel, bread, some nice orange, grapefruit, floral hops. Taste was a mix of orange, grapefruit, resinous notes into biscuit, bread, slight floral, grassy hops at the end, bitter finish.

4.1 Bottle at the Local DC Tasting. Thanks Tyler! Slightly hazy yellow with off-white head. Aromas of citrus, tropical fruit, pineapple. Tastes of citrus, tropical fruit, floral notes. Medium body with a dry finish. Quite good.

3.8 Bottle. Cloudy golden yellow color, bright white head. Nice tropical fruit aroma. Taste is bittersweet fruit. Tasty.

2.3 Poured into a snifter showing well filtered dry straw yellow with sparse white foam. The nose shows barely anything. The palate is well carbonated and light bodied. Flavors of extremely light dry lemon that transitions very quickly into a strong IPA bitterness.

4.1 Bottle from the brewery. Hazy orange body with a medium white head. Steady carbonation. Faint lacing. Aroma of overripe orange, lime chutney and cookies. Flavour of pine, nectarine, grapefruit peel and fresh, peppery hops. Medium to full body with an oily texture. Light fizz. Aggressively hopped but very easy to drink for the ABV.

4.1 Picked up a bottle at the brewpub. Pours a huge frothy off-white head and has a golden amber appearance. Thick dirty lacing. Aromas are mostly of floral hops variety, quite fruity and citrusy as well, pine and grassy notes. Flavours are very fruity, citrus notes abound, some floral hops as well. Quite a smooth and silky mouthfeel. Great retention. Lively carbonation. Easy to drink and 9% abv is not too noticeable.

4.0 Bottle from The Loose Moose. Lots of tropical fruit (notably mango) and sweet caramel malt on the nose, with faint citrus and icing sugar . Pleasantly sweet malt, light spice, with a balanced dose of bitterness and booze. Understated, but incredibly smooth and well-balanced. This stuff is top shelf, but I agree with my buddy Freaky_Tiki about Robohop being the best Ontario IIPA. Still, this is up there.

3.7 Pours clear golden with a thick white head fading quickly. Aromas consists of peaches, mangos and coniferous qualities. Medium to full bodied, sweet mango, a bit thick on the palate, bitterness that supports the mouthfeel adequately, fruity/coniferous finish. good 2IPA

4.2 Bottle. Pours a clear copper, fluffy white head lots of lacing. Nose is sweet caramel malt, and lots of juicy tropical hop. Tastes sweet, Murat caramel, and fruity, quite bitter initially but it subsides. I’ve had this so many times including the initial offering in the stubby bottle, I can’t believe I’ve never rated it. It’s awesome.

3.8 Blonde et troublée (comme bien des blondes...) surmontée d’un collet de de hauteur moyenne et de faible densité. La mousse, au bout de quelques secondes, n’est réduite qu’à un mince anneau blanc sans laisser de traces de son passage sur le verre. Arômes d’ananas, de mangue, de fruit de la passion et d’alcool aussi. Malts riches et gras en trame de fond, la bière s’annonce pesante. Beaucoup de corps en bouche; trop peut-être. Sans doute que c’est à quoi il faut s’attendre d’une bière à 9%, mais un sucre pesant me rend difficile l’expérience buccale qui au niveau des saveurs est cependant très convaicante. Finale marquée par une amertume boostée aux stéroïdes. Une très bonne impériale IPA.

3.6 Draft. This is a decent IIPA, big cirtus notes, some pine, big malt body, had at the source.

4.5 What great artwork and names Bellwoods come up with. Witch Shark hits you in the face with massive pine and mango smells and you go in for the tastes and you get those same dominating flavours. This Double IPA was went too smooth and had very low bitterness. It was a great experience with a double IPA as some are to bitter to want to finish.

4.0 Où, Quand, Comment : Bouteille, courtoisie de Johnsense, dégustée le 7/15/2013. Visuel : Couleur : orangée. Apparence : voilée. Arôme : Houblon fruité (agrumes, moyen de fruits tropicaux), moyennement résineux et citrique et légèrement herbeux, notes de caramel. Goût : Entrée de bouche : Plutôt amère de houblon résineux, fruité (agrumes, léger fruits tropicaux), légèrement citrique et aux notes herbeuses, présent toute la gorgée. Un support malté de caramel est présent avec des notes épicées. En bouche : Corps : moyen. Effervescence : moyenne. Texture : légèrement crémeuse aux notes résineuses. Finale : longue et un peu sèche, composée d’une amertume de houblon fruité, résineux et légèrement citrique.

4.3 Quite the surprise! The aroma is strong with wood and pineapple. The taste is wonderfully alcoholic and fruity.

4.0 Bottle from the brewery. Pours a cloudy orange colour with a a generous white head. Aroma is citrus, grapefruit. Taste is similar, plus mango and hops. Excellent!

3.4 Bottle at Max & Jess’s for an impromptu barbecue thing when I was down for Comic Con.. Pours a hazed golden amber with a thin white head. Caramel and soft citrus on the nose. Medium bodied, sweet malt, a bit of toast and cool alcohol. Soft hops in the finish with a bit more citrus. Decent enough.

3.5 Tap at the Brewpub. Translucent light amber with smallish, scattered off-white head. Nose is fruity, resiny, pretty rounded with not many hooks, and therefore a bit boring. Flavour is more sweetish, resiny bitter; the bitterness is quite strong in the finish, but it’s rather pleasant and not aggressive. Quite a soft mouthfeel, really smooth, carbonation very modest. Bottle. Pretty much agree with what I said above. Carbonation seems stronger this time. Good but not quite on the level of awesome. Lacks some malt backbone I reckon.

4.4 650ml bottle from the brewery in Toronto, Ontario. One of the original bottles opened back in September 2012. Orange-amber in colour with a very long lasting good sized off-white head, excellent lacing. The aroma is of grapefruit, oranges, pine, some caramel. The flavour is very hoppy, lots of citrus grapefruits and oranges, tropical fruits, some sweet caramel malts, lots of pine. Thick and chewy mouthfeel, medium body, moderate carbonation. Finishes long, very hoppy. Wow. Wonderful balance here. A very big DIPA but it drinks like an IPA. World class.

3.5 Bottle at Darren's last night of trip. Hazy amber copper pour. Malty aroma and taste but good rich hoppiness too. Not as good as some of the other beers from Bellwoods maybe but still good.

3.9 Draught @ the brewpub. Pours hazy orangeish amber with creamy, stable white head. Intense aroma of hops and fruit, with citric and malty notes. Sweetish, malty and fruity flavour with notes of hops and touches of citrus and yeast and needles. Bitter and needlelike aftertaste. Good.

3.5 Bottle, thanks to duffman. Lightly hazy gold pour with white head. Aroma is hoppy, tropical, nice grassy notes, peach, light booze. Taste is bitter, lightly fruity, grassy notes, quite boozy. Palate is med bodied with light carbonation. Good.

3.7 Aroma of melon and mango, resinous and tropical. Clear golden with a white head. Flavour is lots of hops, very bitter aftertaste, medium bodied with just enough malts to balance the big hop wallop. Leafy hop flavours. Nice one.