Stoudt's Double IPA + Steam beer planning?

Stoudt's Double IPA was a random grab at Marcy. Pretty, orange-y color; lots of particulate matter; very dense, plush head. I was immediately disappointed by the nose though. It's dominated by thick, heavy crystal malt and smells more like a barley wine than an IPA. Balance is a huge issue in this style and I kinda think they missed the boat.

Some C-hopping comes through but not quite clearly enough to call them--I don't think they're intense enough to be either Chinook or Columbus. The palate is thick and, to me, inadequately attenuated. Their website says that this beer is 10% alcohol, with 75 IBU's, and I think that's the problem. They're going for a big, chunky effect and I'm just not really down with that approach to the style. My own double IPA is a lot better than this, as are, off the top of my head, Great Divide's Hercules and Russian River's Pliny. Any good home-brewer could top this with a little research and an order from freshops or hopsdirect.

Tomorrow I'm brewing a steam beer and I don't have a recipe yet. Crap. I'll fall asleep over Designing Great Beers. This IPA is not anywhere bad enough to be an official pour-out, but right now finishing it doesn't seem worth the 200 calories or so left in the glass. That's a bummer, man. . .