Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale

Brewed by Beer Valley Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Ontario, Oregon USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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A brisk pour produces a four finger-thick, light tan colored head that just crests the top of my 25cl tulip glass without overflowing. The beer is a clear, red-tinged, amber color that shows an almost brilliantly clear, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma is suitably hop focused with notes of pine needles, a green herbal note and sharp citrus notes of grapefruit and sour orange zest. Really the aroma is quite herbal in focus (including ample pine notes). The aroma finishes with a significant, though clearly supporting, biscuit and cracker like maltiness. Not the most hop complex nose, but certainly serviceable for a hop lover.

Creamy textured up front, but then a fizzy carbonation kicks in and ruins this a bit. Amply bitter from the get go with a strong, green, herbal hoppiness that just lingers on the palate long after the sip has left my mouth. A sharp, grapefruit hoppiness lies just behind the dominant pine and bitter notes, but this seems to be the most notable part of the citrus hop component. The hops in the finish get a little astringent especially when coupled with some hot alcohol flavors. A chewy malt character kicks in towards the middle of each sip accenting a solid biscuit character. This has a chewy body, enough to help support the hop character, but not so much that it is overly in the Barleywine category. As the beer warms up it softens up a bit and becomes more drinkable as it loses some of the harsh hop notes; though it starts to pick up a lacquered hop, almost phenolic, curing plastic note as well.

Definitely an aggressively hoppy brew. It doesn’t have the hop balance that I like to see in a double IPA though; I prefer an ample hop fruit character that is tempered by the herbal & pine notes, while this one is opposite to that. Allowing this to substantially warm up from the 52°F / 11°C starting temperature really goes a long way to improving this beer though (despite that phenolic / lacquer note that is a bit nagging in the finish).

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

(Bottle) Pours deep orange golden with a large white head. The aroma holds grassy, orangey, grapefruity, earthy, floral, spicy/herbal, light piny, woodsy, resinous, apricoty and cheesy (oxidized) hops alongside robust malty notes of toffee, cookies, nuts and some bread. The nose is more malty than hoppy. The flavour is light sweet, medium bitter and light acidic with notes of wood, citrus/grapefruit, earth, herbs, grass and a whisper of tart fruits. Chewy malt character of cookies, nuts, toffee and bread. The mouthfeel is creamy, robust, soft and round with a light carbonation. Grapefruity, resinous, herbal and deep toasted malt. Medium to full bodied. Too malty for a DIPA, still really yummy (minus the oxidation).

22 oz bottle. Hazy orange/amber with a big, foamy off white head that leaves some lacing. Muted aroma of toasty malt and caramel with light citrus and floral. Flavor is fairly bitter upfront with a firm maltiness that comes in for balance, the 9% abv is well hidden. Medium body with average carbonation and a dry, sticky mouth feel. Decent IIPA, this bottle could be old because the hop flavor and aroma was pretty mild.

Pours golden with a white head. Aroma is caramle, citrus and grapefruit. Flavour is caramel, citrus, grapefruit and light peach. High bitter.

Pours hazy yellow with a finger of white head. Smell is piney/grassy with a little hint of fruit in it. Taste is floral and bitter, earthy towards the end. Drinkable. Good ipa.

1 pint 6 fl. oz. bottle. Pours a hazy golden amber, with a very large white head, which lasts quite well and leaves good lacing. The aroma has orange peel, grapefruit and some caramel notes. Powerfully bitter grapefruit hops up front also have some lurking peppery flavours and a hint of curry leaf. They give way to burnt caramel and orange zest in the body, which is in turn overcome by a powerful finish of more grapefruit and curry leaf. There is a pleasantly lingering peppery hop aftertaste. This is quite a good imperial IPA - powerfully hoppy but also quite cleansing and refreshing.

66 cl bottle @ home. Pours a cloudy orange (with some sediment) with a big white head that leaves a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is a great blend of citrusy and piney hops. The flavor follows the nose with a slightly bitter finish.

Herber, weich hopfiger Beginn. Die Hopfennoten sind zwar im Vordergrund, die Herbe ist aber kurz dahinter. Die Blumigkeit des IPAs ist ausbaufähig, ab und an wirkt das Bier zu mild. Trockene Bitterkeit, zum Ende dann auf einmal wieder deutlich blumiger, hefig, hier rund und stimmig. 11/9/11/11/9/11

Bottle from Mane Liquor. Pours cloudy, bright orange with a fair few floaties and a large, fluffy white head. Nose leans towards citrus hops with a touch of earth/grassy tones. Grapefruit is faintly in there. Citrus zest, leaves and grapefruit right on the finish. Dry bitter finish makes you keep coming back for me. Solid beer

Better than last night’s IIPA, balance leans more towards the hops, dry, grassy, body is medium so easy enough to drink.

65 cl bottle @ home, no BBE info found
Aroma is somewhat stale with hops, nettles, grass and some glue. Flavour has biscuits, hops, some caramel and glue. Hoppy, grassy finish. The hops are nice, but the glue is not.