Decadent Ales - "Creamsicle" double IPA

Lately I've seen a surprising amount of lactose beers on the shelf at the store; just like the gose and sour beer craze of 2014, it seems that lactose is the next biggest thing.  To recap: a lot of beers these days are made using lactose (milk sugar), which gives the beers a soft and silky mouthfeel. While lactose is not uncommon in stouts (i.e. milk stouts), what's surprising is that I'm seeing a lot of IPAs made with lactose! Some of them are packed with crazy ingredients like marshmallows, or chocolate chips, or mangoes, or Earl Grey tea; fellow D'Vines clerk Martin O. calls this style "dessert IPAs."

Hot on the heels of my "Girl Grey" review, here's another beer made with lactose - this time, made by Decadent Ales, a craft brewery in Mamaroneck, NY. Here we have the "Creamsicle", an 8.40% ABV lactose double IPA made with Madagascar vanilla, orange zest, and marshmallows. Just liked you'd expect a creamsicle. The hop bill is 100% Citra, which by the way is my favorite strain of hops. Mosaic is good too but I think Citra is my favorite.

I've never had anything from Decadent Ales before, so I'm not sure what to expect. But it better be good - a four-pack of  tallboys costs $20, so definitely on the higher end of affordability. Martin and I split it, however, so $10 for two each is much more doable.

So let's give it a pour.

Pours slowly, as expected for thick lactose beers, and it generates and solid white head reminiscent of ice cream. Pretty nice! The beer projects a juicy - and somewhat hoppy - aroma, kinda like a Tree House beer. Or an Aslin one.

Initially there's a sweet flavor - the lactose coming through - and the beer presents some soft fruit flavors, like peach (which, incidentally, is probably from the hops.) The vanilla is definitely there; hard to necessarily pick out the marshmallows, but I'll take their word for it. Texture is nice the whole way through, and while those peach hops stick with you, the vanilla sort of disappears. Finishes quickly, not much flavor "on the back end", although there are some sugary flavors in the mouth after swallowing.

Generally, the beer is pretty balanced. The lactose adds a nice texture, although not to the level of the "Girl Grey." I would be curious to try the beer without the lactose, just to see how much it softens it. I'm also curious about the marshmallows; I wonder if the marshmallows contributed to the softness and the sugariness more than the lactose. After all, lactose gives a beer taste and body but it's not the primary driver of flavor.

Now - the big question - is this worth $20 for a four-pack? I'm thinking no. It's a good beer, but doesn't bring the flavor, or an innovative texture, or anything else that might bump it up to that price point. Some of the other Decadent offerings are even more expensive, with one I saw ringing up at $26.99 for four tallboys. Not to say this beer wasn't tasty, but for such a high price, I'd expect something more.