UnEarthly vs. 2XIPA

Ale's What Cures Ya · Post by **Ale's What Cures Ya** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:33 am

To those lucky enough to have already had both, is there a major difference between these two beers? I've only ever had UnEarthly (and love it) so I'm wondering if 2XIPA is vastly different.

RayOhm · Post by **RayOhm** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:43 am

I've had both but the 2X was very old. So I really shouldn't comment. Unearthly is one of my favourite IIPAs though. Can't wait until 2X hits the BO so I can give them a fair comparison.

The_Jester · Post by **The_Jester** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:04 am

To me, UnEarthly has more balance, such as it is. 2XIPA is hop juice, not that that's always a bad thing.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:46 am

I prefer the 2XIPA.

I actually found the 2XIPA to be less of a hop bomb than many other American DIPAs. It is a dangerously easy drinking DIPA and I preferred it to Unearthy.

Gedge · Post by **Gedge** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:56 am

Unearthly - to me - has never been equalled by any of the other ST IPAs, and that includes 2XIPA, Gemini and Hoppe. I like 'em all, but the Unearthly just has something I like, may it's the balance one of the posters above noted. Just comes together in a way the others don't.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:13 am

Gedge wrote:Unearthly - to me - has never been equalled by any of the other ST IPAs, and that includes 2XIPA, Gemini and Hoppe. I like 'em all, but the Unearthly just has something I like, may it's the balance one of the posters above noted. Just comes together in a way the others don't.

I think it is time for me to try another bottle of Unearthy. From my review that I just read (the only time I have tried Unearthy) I noted that it was an unbalanced hop bomb.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:32 am

i bought a 6er of 2X via private order and it was trash. hopefully the stuff we get in to the lcbo is in better shape

Gedge · Post by **Gedge** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:38 am

TheSevenDuffs wrote:From my review that I just read (the only time I have tried Unearthy) I noted that it was an unbalanced hop bomb.

I wonder if "balance" applies to a beer that is however many IBUs Unearthly is. For me it was my gateway beer to beers that are "hop bombs". But I like hop bombs, so YMMV.

The_Jester · Post by **The_Jester** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:21 pm

Gedge wrote:I wonder if "balance" applies to a beer that is however many IBUs Unearthly is. For me it was my gateway beer to beers that are "hop bombs". But I like hop bombs, so YMMV.

I use "balance" as a relative term. Perhaps I should have suggested that Unearthly has more of a malt profile than 2XIPA. And I'll stick to the term "hop juice" rather than "hop bomb," which, to me, suggests overwhelming bitterness. I didn't find 2XIPA terribly bitter at all; it just utilized a lot of mid-addition hops, and not a lot of specialty malt. It tastes like hops. As such, the balance of the 2X swings more toward the hops side of things than does the Unearthly, in terms of flavour. I could, however, be convinced that Unearthly has more bitterness.

kwjd · Post by **kwjd** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:11 pm

I find Unearthly to be too much on the sweet side for me. 2XIPA is more balanced with hops.

Gedge · Post by **Gedge** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:12 pm

Well described Jester. I guess one man's hop bomb is another man's hop juice.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 5:43 pm

We have both beers regularly available here in B.C. My first reaction to the 2x was that it tasted very much like the middle ground between the standard IPA and Unearthly. Yes, it's very hop forward and perhaps lacks some of the exquisite balance of the Unearthly but it's a damn fine beer none the less.

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:20 pm

Unearthly is really a rather poor rendition of a DIPA. It's basically an Imperial ESB.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:44 pm

JesseM wrote:Unearthly is really a rather poor rendition of a DIPA. It's basically an Imperial ESB.

Not quite sure how you drew that conclusion. After more than 1100 ratings the Unearthly scores an enviable 99 overall and 96 within style...which would seem to indicate that a large cross section of raters had no problem with this being classified a double IPA.

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:58 pm

My opinion is above that of RB. Also, disregarding that, you have to take those stats from RB with a grain of salt.