Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Boonville, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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22oz bomber. Pours a nice clear copper color with a lively head, like a slightly overprimed homebrew, that dissipates pretty quickly. The aroma is somewhat malty for an IIPA with some resinous hop aroma lurking. The flavor is bitter up front, a nice blend of malt sweetness blending with pleasnt hop flavors in the middle, and finished with a slight sweetness complimenting a nice spicy hoppiness. Overall it is much better than I would have expected.

Draught @ Hilpeä Hauki, Helsinki

Pours dark orange with a sticky foamy head. Aroma of caramel malts, some fruits and grassy hops. Taste is malty with some fruity hops, grass and toffee. Finish is malty and slightly hoppy. Okay, quite malty IIPA.

bottle-purchased at Guacamole’s in Las Cruces, NM-pours bright orange clear with lots of carbonation this style of beer. large head with generous lacing. looks like a decent beer. nose is muddled sweet pineapple, wet grains, lite alcohol, and some astringent pinesol notes. flavors are very similar-oversweet alchoholic pine notes, pinesap, grapefruit, pineapple and some very resinous notes on the finish. long bitter resinous finish of either CTZ or Chinook. Fairly clean yet boring however, i think this sample has a bit of age on it.

(Bottle, 0.355 l, at Hilpeä Hauki) The beer poured amber and quite clear. Its head was medium sized and white. Aroma had hops, pine and fruitiness. Palate was medium bodied with medium carbonation. Flavours were hops, fruitiness, pine, sweetness, alcohol, malts and bitterness. Aftertaste was sweet, hoppy and bitter. A tasty but boring DIPA.

Taste was dominated by alcohol! Almost clear amber color and medium head and body. Good grapefruit aroma, but most hops were then overshadowed by the alcohol.

The color of the beer was a shade lighter than standard issue IPA amber, and there was four finer thick head, but not much visible carbonation in the form of streamers. The smell was very subdued for the style. I could detect some citric hops and nothing else. The bland aroma had me worried about the the taste, but it was much better. There was a lot of citric and tropical flavor in the taste followed by a pleasing sweetness. Quite balanced considering the Imperial moniker and West Coast pedigree. Sticky on the tongue with a medium body, and a peppery aftertaste. So so.

12 oz. bottle labeled simply as “Imperial IPA”. Used a snifter. Color is an orange/ gold with a thin ring of white head. Spotty lace around the glass. Nose of sweet caramel malt with a mild resin like hop note. Taste shows me a spicy hop; balanced real well with the sweet malts. Dry hopping makes me believe a few pine needles are sitting on the bottom of the glass. Light bitterness that lingers a bit after the sip. No ABV detected (maybe I’m immune at this point) Drinkability high; since I wish I had another once my glass was finished. Nicely executed.

355ml bottle, as Anderson Valley Imperial IPA 8.7% abv., at Bishops Arms Kiruna. Slightly hazy amber in body appearance. Firm off-white head leaving spotty lacing behind. Dried and fresh fruity aromatics with notes of almond. Taste of apricot mixed with citrus fruits on a backbone of malty sweetness supported by a deep fruit bitter ending added by alcohol. Pleasant, however, rather heavy to drink, 27.04.2012.

coppery light amber with miimal head. piney hops, slight caramel. slight boozy in the finish.

Very much a modern US beer. Loads of malts, residual sweetness and assertive hops. Quite seductive, almost slutty, but does chug along somewhat and not what I’d call a session beer. That said, balanced compared to other IIPAs and the the sub 9% is a welcome touch.

Copper colored beer with a slightly off-white head. Aromas of faint grapefruit, and pine hops. Tastes of bitter spruce/pine hops, some fresh cut grass, and is balanced by a caramel sweet malts. Some faint fruit in the finish. Nicely balanced, and tasty.