Alley Kat Bad Hare Day

***review from May 8, 2008***
Poured out a dark amber beer with a good sized white cap, good retention and light lacing. The aroma is grapefruity, apricot and herbal that seems to lean on a hint of mint and has a decent floral fragrance. Background malts. The taste isn’t that bad but it is below the average american styled IIPA’s and I do notice the alcohol a bit too much, but this is not a bad thing, it’s just a direct comparison to others. Grapefruit, herbal hops, something odd that I can’t nail down, weak malts that do the job but could have more of a backbone. Solid bitterness. Nice swish gives a lively but soft mouth feel. Just got a bit of extra sweet candy (first time I really noticed it was right near the emptying of the glass. Fairly lengthy herbal and candy (weaker of the two) bitter aftertaste. Drinks very well when on the warm side! A decent representation of an IIPA but unfortunately it does not match up against others. That being said, I may get some more as it is easy to drink, it’s only 7.8% and it is a local product. Support your local breweries!

courtesy of fiulijn - cloudy reddish-amber colour with a firm and long lasting beige foam; aroma of apricot and cream; very aromatic bitterness, creamy mouthfeel, medium-bodied, fair carbonation and solidly bitter; long fruity bitterness

Yet another beer in the series of beers Alley Kat has produced for Sherbrooke, so far all of these brews have been very hit and miss with none of them being all that memorable and this is no exception. While this isn’t horrid or even remotely offensive it falls way short of what it could have been but it was a good try. Beer pours a copper body with a long lasting off white crown. Light grape fruity aroma that’s to mild for the style with some very light woody malts coming through and no signs of any alcohol. Flavor also has the grape fruit hops and mild wood malts but it all seems watered down, all the correct flavours are here for an IIPA but there is no complexities or in your face intensity. There is a mild bitterness about it but not enough for the style and the after taste seems strangely sweet. Good beer to drink but fails horribly.

Bottled 341ml. Courtesy of DuffMan. Appearance: It pours a hazy amber beer with an average-sized beige head. Good lacework. Aroma: Resiny hops, chestnuts, raisins, walnuts, caramel, clotted cream and pineapple. Flavor and palate: Good bitterness. Macadamia nuts sneaking in. Maple syrup, chestnuts and caramel showing up. Nice hop profile. Earthy. Faintly soapy. A lot of raisins appearing on the swallow. Bitter finish. Overall impression: A decent Imperial IPA without the grapefruit, pine needle-notes. Thanks a lot DuffMan!

Bottle courtesy of Sherbrooke Liquor Store, thanks man!
Hazy dark color, with creamy head, nice lace. Nice resiny aroma, caramel, toffee, creamy. Medium body, toffee flavor, strong but with limited sweetness, and quite strong bitterness, not extreme, a bit resiny; touch of sweet nuts. The final is also medium, for a double IPA. Good.

My Bottom Line:
This enjoyable Double IPA proposes a juicy fruitiness within streaming alcohol heat, as floral, resinous hoppiness expresses itself starkly.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A lofty head of foam bobs atop the the clear, fiery amber.
-The fruitiness is redolent of apricots, orange pith and other citrus fruit.
-The flavor profile is balanced throughout.
-The soft bubbling and cushiony roundness fit together quite well.
-The finishing hop bitterness is also earthy and wooden, and never too portentous, as is often customary in this style.
-That’s a lot of alcohol showing for a 7.8% abv brew.
-The sweetness is not necessarily caramelized.

Bottle; thx Mike!!

Pours a clear copper color. Pretty good off white head, decent lacing. Hop aroma is there, but it doesn’t beat you over the head like some of the other IIPAs (Stone, I’m looking at you :) At the end of the day, it’s a very good IIPA with a strong malt backbone. It could use a little more hop in the finish.

Hazy orange amber, thick vanilla head. Very big resinous hop aroma, a hint of underlying sweet malt (you can smell the freshness here!). Woody resinous hop character dominates, although is well supported by underlying sweet soft maltiness. Very bitter finish. Solid.