Alaskan Pilot Series: Imperial Red

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Juneau, Alaska USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Thanks to 5000 for sending me this bottle. Medium red with a white head. Aroma is pine with some caramel and sugar notes. Flavor is resinous pine, as well as some juicy orange, caramel, brown sugar and medium bitterness. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

651 ml bottle. Pours a dark, murky red with a two inch tan head that lasts. Taste is of roasted malt, caramel, nuts, hops, pine, grapefruit, citrus, resin and mint in the end. Similar aroma. Has a nice body with a lingering bitter and dry finish. Lots of flavors that are not over powering or unpleasant. Very easy to drink and quite enjoyable.

The pour is deep clear brown with a large garnet glow. Tall tan head that coats the sides of the glass as it retreats. Aroma of dark caramel with citrus and spice hops. The flavor is sweet with a brown sugar tone to it. Some smoky dryness in the finish.

Bottle. Taste is burnt brown sugar, malt, summer fruits and booze. Solid imperial red.

Pours red with a beige head. More interestingly, it appears to have some chill haze, which is odd. I thought it was just a cloudy beer after my first pour, but no, the cloudiness has disappeared as the beer warms. It also foamed up a bunch when I poured, which I guess is another sign. It doesn’t really bother me, but I am surprised to see it from a brewery of Alaskan’s size and experience. The aroma is mostly hops, floral and citric, but there’s a deep toasty malt sweetness in there as well. Candied grapefruit peel. It’s a nice enough aroma, though the hop contributions are a bit drab for a new beer, at least compared to all of the more interesting work with hops of late. The taste is a bit more disappointing. There’s a funny DME-ish sweetness to the beer. It’s a sweet tang that doesn’t sit quite right. Booze is evident. Lots of caramel and toasty, bready malt. More drab hops. They’re not terribly bitter and there is flavor to them, but it’s just a basic grapefruit/pine resin note that’s muted and stale. I don’t really mind the lack of hop complexity, and I quite like standard American CTZ flavors, but this is just boring. Mouthfeel is smooth and mostly pleasant, but the beer gets a bit sticky and boozy, particularly in the finish. I’m not quite sure what to do with this beer. I feel like I’m being overly harsh, but I’m struggling to find positives. These flavors have been done better in other beers. Neither the malt sweetness nor the hops are handled well. There are some really good big hoppy red ales out there, so I don’t really understand bringing a new one to market without a good reason, and I’m not seeing any real reason to buy this beer over beers that have been around for years and are widely available.

Bottle... Poured deep re with a thick, eggy, off-white head. Earthy, malty nose. Nice trashing beer. Balanced with floral tones and deep sinuous hops, along its sweet malts and caramel-like sugars and toastiness. Green hops, tea leaves, earthy spice with low yeast/ester presence. Nice malty finish.

Sampled in a bomber. Pour amber with a little head on it. Aged for a few months. Slightly sweet and malts are smooth.

Pours a reddish dark brown with a tan head. The aroma is better than the taste. Caramel, sweet malt, biscuit, some pine. The aftertaste is a little off to me. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle. Pours an amber reddish color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty piney hoppy aroma. Fruity malty piney hoppy bitter flavor with weak hints of caramel. Has a fruity malty piney hoppy bitter finish.

Pours deep red and slightly hazy-small head. Nose is citrus, fruits and herbs,grapefruit, deep caramel and a touch of roast malt. Flavor is similar. Finishes lightly sweet but an assertive bitterness that doesn’t linger too long. Full body and caramel malty rich. Interesting. could have used more hops overall.