UPDATED: MAR 14, 2019 Style here says imperial IPA, so thought this was going to be an oakey DIPA...but bottle says Imperial Red Ale. I agree...not an IPA. Has some hop to it, but too sweet for me with the malt, fruit, etc...quite aggressive. This is actually more like a Belgian Triple. Dark cloudy mohagany color. Good beer with some decent flavor and feel....just not my preferred style. Or, would go with a true Belgian instead.

Aged from 2012 (drank in 2017). Pours a cloudy/milky reddish-brown with tan head. A strong dark alcohol and caramel malt aroma. Despite the aging a strong oak, roasted and caramel malt, vanilla, and dark alcohol taste. A lingering caramel malt and dark alcohol aftertaste.

Draft at The Pour House in Westmont, NJ. Pours a hazy dark copper color with amber/mahogany edges and a 1.5 finger off-white head that slowly settles into a lasting ring. Splotches of lace left behind. Aroma reminds me of an old ale. Some toasted, earthy oak along with subtle vanilla followed by caramel malt and earthy floral hop notes. Oak becomes more prominent as it warms giving off a slight toothpick character. Caramel malt sweetness, toffee and rye overpower the hops. Subtle resinous piney character but not what I was expecting for a hoppy beer. Medium bodied with a nice oak barrel presence that’s decently integrated into the base beer. It’s strong but doesn’t completely overpower the other flavors. Virgin oak/toothpick flavor with a little bit of spicy rye. Again, the hops are there but are overpowered by the strong barrel and malt profile. Hints of caramel, toffee, spicy rue and cocoa followed floral and slightly earthy hop bitterness. A bit dry but the malts have sweetness for balance. Abv well masked and decently drinkable but overpowering wood flavors hurt a bit. Also, way too malty for the style in my opinion. Not bad but the barrel character is too dominant and the hops are overpowered.

This is definitely a monster of a beer. The color is a deep red and hazy as hell with tons of particulate floating around. Beautiful looking beer. Gigantic sweet malt aroma and some vanilla and oakiness. I’m glad the whole oak thing is actually accurate in this beer. Taste is big and sweet with some subtle whiskey and vanilla. Theres a slight hoppiness to cut the sweetness but this is a big sweet malt bomb of a beer. Definitely a sipper, this thing will crush you.

Aroma of sweet malt and a little hops. Appearance is muddy brown w/ some head. Neutral, yet balanced test. Smooth for the ABV. It’s OK.

2013 Bottle: Deep ruby and violet tinted amber coloured body with a rich glow of brown and a fast-dying single centimetre tall light brown head. Aroma of pure richness - alcohol, oak, vanilla, bourbon, figs, toffee, prunes, raisins, oak, hops and way more alcohol - very nice and smells like a nicely oaked barley wine. Full-bodied; Super rich malt body with grain presence, some bourbon and brandy notes and a lot of vanilla and dry cedar notes throughout - the taste pulls in flavours from every direction. Aftertaste is quite dry with more alcohol than before, but with a introspective note - more of the oak comes out with less sugar, some shallow hops and a bit of hop finish - nice. Overall, a very nice beer throughout with an amazing complexity that really ranges from the nose to the taste to the finish - this one surprises all around, but shows pretty much what you’d expect - although, I’d classify this as a barley wine and not an imperial ipa. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Whole Foods in Arlington (Clarendon), Virginia on 24-October-2013 for US$3,49 before the last Marine Corps Marathon, but sampled it in celebration of running a marathon today in Maryland on 29-November-2014.

Transfer from BA review on 4-4-14- Poured from bottle into a snifter Appearance – The beer pours a very deep copper color with hints of a ruby within, with the overall color bordering on a mahogany color. Upon pouring the brew has a small half finger head of just off white foam. The head fades rather fast, leaving some light foamy lace on the sides of the glass and a few spotty foam islands floating on the surface of the beer. Smell – The aroma of the beer very bready and heavy of some sweeter aromas of a caramel and toffee nature. Along with these malty smells comes a decent sum of an oaky smell as well as a big dose of a boozy bourbon smell. With a bit of a pine and grassy hop and some aromas of a darker fruit nature, one experiences an overall very sweet, malty and boozy smell that gives one a warming feel from just the aroma. Taste – The taste begins with a smooth malty flavor with a big bready and slightly doughy flavor. Tons of sweet caramel and darker fruits of raisin, plum and prune are on the tongue right from the start creating a very sweet brew. The sweet and bready flavors create a base for the flavor profile, lasting throughout much of the taste. While not very present at the start of the taste, hop and oak flavors develop more and more as the taste advances. The oak is the first to come to the tongue with it gaining strength more toward the end of the taste. Some hop flavors join the taste at this time as well, with a bit of a light earthy and grassy flavor coming to the tongue. The hop remain rather light throughout the remainder of the taste, not really living up to the “hoppy monster” name. While the hop remains lighter, the oak and sweet are both quite potent at the end of the taste, and with them comes some rather stronger boozy tastes, which with the rest of the flavors, leaves a boozy and sweet warming taste to linger on the tongue. Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is quite thick and chewy with a carbonation level that is very low. The very thick body and low carbonation really accentuate all the boozy, oak, and sweet flavors of the brew rather nicely, making this one a very slow sipping brew. Overall – While the “hoppy” in the name was never really delivered to a full extent, the boozy, fruity, and oak were very much big and monstrous, but in a rather nice way. Overall it is big, malty, and boozy with lots of oak flavors which makes for a rather nice slow sipper. Super delicious!!

Poured from a bottle. Murky dark caramel with 1/2 inch tan head. Tons of caramel in the aroma along with oak and vanilla. Sticky sweet smell. Some fruity hops lingering in the background. Full body and smooth. Hides 10%+ alcohol well. Rich flavorful brew; a bit on the sweet side and I didn’t find it to be quite as hoppy as the name might suggest.

Bottle. Clear ruby with a thick off white head. Aroma is sweet malt, melon, caramel and malt. Barrel character really comes out in the taste. Finish is really short. Mouthfeel is slightly thin. Not bad.

UPDATED: OCT 24, 2014 Bottle. Dark amber. Big oak aroma with huge malts. The taste follows suit with burnt sugar and some caramel. Low carb. Sort of thin mouthfeel with a long resinous finish. Really good, lots of oak. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone