I’m having an episode… of happiness! Because I’m drinking this new DIPA from Boréale!  Boréale has really opened the eyes of the craft beer market for IPAs in Quebec since the release of their Nord-Est IPA, a solid New England style IPA which really has captured the style well and has become a crowd favorite. It has reached great heights and sees no sign of passing its crown down anytime soon. With the Motel Coconut blowing my mind as well, I figured that Gabriel Dulong, the brewer, would have something great to follow no doubt, and indeed there is something new to showcase his abilities. He presents us with The Double Descente!

Boréale Double Descente
DIPA || ABV: 8% || IBU: 100

The Double Descente is a DIPA dry hopped with Vic Secret & Amarillo. I am truly excited to see the next level that Gabriel and Boréale have embarked on and so with that excitement I am going to drink an 8% DIPA 750ml growler to myself and sleep peacefully tonight. This is the first time in Hop Citizen history I am drinking the beer, writing and posting an article about it simultaneously. It kind of creates this crazy dynamic that maybe Boréale is brainwashing my thoughts intentionally. But, the reality is that the beer is controlling my thoughts instead. It’s a dam conspiracy I tell ya….. Aliens… (Who invited this guy to the party).

Not really though! It is just a damn good beer!

On the nose I get some papaya and mango with some mixture of overripe fruits. The aroma doesn’t impact me as much, it has notes of fruits and the bold hop character but, it isn’t as prominent as I had expected. The color of the beer is a nice orange sunburst with a dark intricacy. A sign of the beer having some great hop characters along with a dark evil presence. As if Galactus is eventually going to pop up and steer his evil head and engulf you whole. A hop character followed by a sinister little devil, called alcohol!

On the taste it is not as bold as the nose suggest, Galactus was defeated and kept at bay. The result is peace, harmony and balance. I have no clue where the Fantastic Four were, but there was one fantastic beer drinker present and a fantastic assailant.. hops! The fruity hop character is very subtle for me in this beer, it is present but a bit quiet. The general hop character is still all up in your face. The hop presence is followed by a bold sweetness that dies away and opens the doors to a kick of bitterness that knocks you on you a**. It lingers a bit and then tapers off. The sweetness in the middle may not be the best for me, it can be a bit of a turn off. It has this sweet, syrupy, oiliness to it that I don’t enjoy as much. But it still stands as a very enjoyable and bar setting double IPA for Quebec. The Double Descente, is a solid take for the Quebec market for me. Les Trois Mousquetaires DIPA has got more of the fruityness that I enjoy but the Double Descente has a more interesting mix of flavours. There is no doubt that some great double IPAs exist from Quebec, but Double Descente is on a path I know not even the Guardians of the Galaxy can stop. Marvel reference much? 

My final point on this beer, it is smooth as all the hell that Dante had to endure over seven stages, but the opposite of that. Poor Dante. There is not an ounce of suffering you will experience to get through this beer. It is as smooth as it gets and it goes down like water. I almost turned to my wife after and asked her for water, but then I corrected myself by saying “I already have water” but then wait… s*** it was beer. Can I has water?

I personally prefer the Nord-Est IPA over this one, but it goes without saying that this is still a beer that you must seek out. I am certain it will change and evolve with the next few batches. Pst by the way Nord-est IPA has reached #28 on ratebeer top 50 IPAs. Woot Woot. You can find Double Descente now around bars in Quebec as of yesterday, click this link here to see where it is available. Go have some, share your thoughts, and always support local! Cheers, stay hoppy!

Words + Photography by Hopcitizen