Central Waters Illumination Double IPA

Can you say Palate Wrecker? This double IPA comes in at 108 IBUs. As hoppy as it gets with a mouthful of citrus flavors. Grab one today and illuminate your tastebuds.

3.8

268 reviews

Amherst, United States

Community reviews

4.0 On tap at Map Room. Pours light amber with a clinging beige head and a tfloral aroma. There is a full-bodied caramel malt flavor with huge hop bitterness.

4.4 Solid double IPA. Sharp and hoppy with just enough malt to keep things in check. Great bitter, hoppy finish keeps me interested. I always look for this one.

3.9 Dark golden color with a taller, fluffy off-white head. Larger isles of lace as the head subsides. Big hops aromas, with resin, pulpy citrus, and zest. Hints of pale malts and butterscotch in the backdrop. Fairly full in feel, that thins out slightly with the acidic hops. Light sweet start with pale malt and light fruit. Lots of resinous hops, with pine citrus, zest, and lightly floral qualities. Finish is light and crisp with a bit of acidity. Finish has a mild return of pale malt and light fruit (peachy). I seemed to enjoy this one much more while not thinking about it (the first two I tried last night). Still a very good IIPA. 3/10

3.7 draft at Moor Pat & Blue Monk, WNY. burnt orange pour, fuller mouthfeel. resiny hops, sweet malty backbone, citrusy forward, pineapple. pretty good

4.3 Poured from the 6-pack of bottles, sharp, bitter, and hoppy. This one goes down way to smooth to be 9% but after drinking 4 of them I’m pretty sure that’s accurate. Grab it while you can get it cuz it’s gonna be popular.

3.7 Golden orange pour small head. Nose is citrus and pine. Tastes of pine needles, caramel, honey, orange citrus, pineapple,and resin. Bitter slightly sweet finish. Decent.

4.0 ダブルIPA、ホッピーかなりうまい

3.7 12 ounce shared bottle. Pours golden red with a decent off-white head. Aroma of citrus and pine. Taste is grapefruit, lemon, orange, pineapple, pine, and malt. Tasty.

3.5 Look: pours orange. Bright white head. Very clear. Smell: grapefruit. Cutie oranges. Lemons. Pineapple. Taste: grapefruit. Pineapple. Lemon. Oranges. Feel: dry on the back but a smooth finish. Overall: nice beer. Like the dry and sweet combo. First drank: home 4/6/15 Vintage: 2015

4.0 Very heavy. Zero sweetness, and a bitter citrus taste. Golden-brown, kind of a bland color. Very hoppy as well. Somewhat odd that the hops dont entirely go with the bitter citrus. EIther way is a very good DIPA, somewhat different than the DIPA norm.

3.9 12oz bottle into tulip. Minneapolis. Bottled 30 days ago. Pours a golden copper color. Hazy. Medium white head. Aroma is heavy on hops. Grapefruit and resin dominate. A little bit of lime. Taste is heavily bitter. A small touch of sweetness. Body is fairly full. Average carbonation. Very long bitter finish. This is a very heavily hopped DIPA.

3.7 Reddish-orange pour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruity/pineapple hops. Taste is thick, malty, light fruity hops. Nice lacing. Tasty hop finish.

3.3 Okay, so the off-white head fizzled into a film shortly after the pour. The golden amber body still looks inviting. The aroma is earthy and herbal, mixed with a bit of zest. The malt finally shows up as a light cereal with a drop of caramel. Then the hops take over, much like the nose suggested but with a touch of cat box. The bitterness is solid and lasts long into the dry finish. Decent stuff.

3.6 12oz bottle - I nice example of a DIPA, although clearly inspired by the East Coast school of brewing with a heavy dose of malts. Aroma is super fruity, tangerine, orange juice concentrate with some dankness lurking about. Flavor is much more aggressive with some earthy/peppery hops, light pine and resin, with a buttery caramel malt base. A nicely balanced DIPA.

3.6 If it’s possible to have a balanced 2X IPA, this is it. So many imperial IPAs can be unpleasantly grainy. Illumination is not. I don’t think a second palate-slapping Illumination is advisable, but a single snifterful is worth the trouble. Enjoyed on tap at the brewery.

3.1 "i’ll have to be the dissenter here. this bottle was marked May and the age showed. It had potential with some spicy resinous hops present, but the presentation was flat. The aroma overly sweet, the hops and bitterness subdued. 10 months is just too long on the shelf for an IPA to be at it’s best. got it in a trade w/John, so I’m not sure if I’ll ever re-rate this one. So far, I love CWs strong, dark beers and have been less than enamored with their hoppy offerings (this and hop harvest)."

3.7 A hazy orange beer with a small off-white head. The aroma is bready malt and resinous hop. The flavor is earthy, citrus, bitterness and alcohol.

4.1 Poured from a 12oz bottle with 11414 stamped on the bottle - I assume enjoy by 11/4/14? Aroma - Interesting. Tropical fruit, but slightly faint - but it is still there. Appearance - clear golden color - nice. Taste - very nice. Tastes a lot like Great Waters DIPA which is one of my favorites. Palate - Nice bite at the front...good stuff. Overall - very happy. Great beer.

3.4 A double I wanted to like, but really couldn’t get behind. A beautiful pour with a tall head served on draft at the tap house that smelled a bit too piney. Flavor was dominated by an almost astringent piney grassy taste... too one dimensional, lacked depth and supporting notes. Didn’t really enjoy it.

3.8 A slightly hazy orange copper with a nice light tan that settles to a dollop and leaves great sticky lacing. Aroma has some ripe fruit sweetness with some sourdough and some wood and pine. Taste is light caramel and citrus with some spiciness and prominent piney bitterness. Cracker malt flavor with some tropical fruit,wood character and hint of alcohol. Finishes semi dry with some piney bitterness. Mouthfeel is semi creamy with a medium/full body and moderate carbonation. Nicely balanced between the mild malt sweetness and the spicy/tropical hops and piney bitterness. All the flavors were well integrated.

3.6 2014 bottle. Pours a hazy copper/orange color with a foamy off-white head. Nice sticky lacing. Has a big caramel aroma with some over-ripe mango and a bit of bread dough. Taste hits you with an immediate, sharp bitterness up front that's piney, floral and a bit soapy. The ripe mango lays underneath the bitterness with a nice sweetness and there's some cracker and yeast at the end. The bitterness fades fairly quickly and doesn't build on the tongue. Well balanced. Medium bodied with a semi-dry, astringent mouthfeel.

3.7 bottle @ John’s Grocery / Iowa City IA --- Nearly clear medium amber with a bubbly white head that stays at 1/2", hole-filled curtain of lace. Taste is malt and solid citrus hops. The hops seem strong, but the malt is persistent and holds its own. For the strength, it seems really well balanced. Good stuff.

3.7 A copper golden orange color with half a finger of off white head. Smells of funky dank caramel, soured fruit of some sort, peach, mango and other citrus, a little woodiness. Taste is a sharp floral/citrus hop bitter at first that bleeds into a slight caramel malt and honey sweetness, some orange peel, lemon, cracker, alcohol. Ends with an ample amount of hop bitter on the tongue and some more cracker with some lingering tropical notes. A pretty amped up hop taste with just enough sweetness and malt to balance it.

4.1 Draft. From notes. Citrus, grapefruit and light pine dominates. Decent caramel malt backbone. Pretty darn good.

4.8 very hoppy very bitter a really good beer not something that you could drink all night but a very nice beer

4.4 Pours a slightly hazy amber color with white head. Pine, citrus, light fruits, hop resin, and floral notes on the nose; follows onto the palate. Finishes with a big hop bite. Delicious.

3.0 Shared from a bottle at Jason’s anti-Homebrew Club Meeting. It poured a clear medium amber with sudsy white foam. True-to-style grapefruity American IPA traits. Not terribly bitter, emphasis on hoppy flavours not aroma. Medium body and carbonation, hoppy aftertaste. Decent but forgettable. I’m calling bullsh!t on the 9% abv and the 108 IBU claims. There’s absolutely no way. Test it, you’ll see.

3.4 12 oz. bottle, consumed on 7-14-14. Hoppy, yeasty aroma features scents of pine, caramel, peach, watermelon bubblegum, and some lemon and urine. Pours a somewhat hazy bronze with a moderate amount of taupe head. Produces long-lasting lacing. Flavors of pine, tonic water, minerals, and spices. A bit boozy. Dry finish. Medium body. Smooth in the palate. Pretty good overall, but I’ve had many better Double IPAs.

4.1 Tasted on tap at Maria’s Community Bar. It poured a beautiful hazy amber with a frothy off white head and streaky lacing. Hop and citrus nose that follows through on the tongue. A very enjoyable double IPA.

3.8 Location: Draft at Jake Melnick’s, 5/27/14 Aroma: The aroma is pine and citrus hops, resin, and some caramel Appearance: It pours a clear orange-amber color with a mid-sized off-white head Flavor: The flavor is fairly bitter with a some lighter sweetness for a little balance Palate: The body is medium, it has a soft-to-average carbonation, and a long, dry finish Overall Impression: I enjoyed this beer. Nice example of the style, maybe not a top-of-style example, but a nice one for sure.