Central City Imperial IPA

Brewed by Central City Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Surrey, Canada

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Lots of citrus hops here. Pours cloudy brown with good lacing, ok head. Aronson candy malt,.booze, and hops. Soft carbonation. Finish is bittersweet. Tap at Alibi Room.

Autism bomber into duvel tulip. Amber with 2 finger off white head. Aroma is mostly malt, some citrus hops. Flavor is oversweet and underhopped. Some hop bite in the finish.

Imperial IPA for Autism: Strong citrus and spicy pine hop notes complement the thick chewy toffee and caramel malt aromas in the nose. Clear burnished copper coloured body is topped by a decent off white head that recedes to cover with some lacing. Flavour features all the elements of the aroma but comes down a bit on the sweet side. Medium body is slightly watery with somewhat low carbonation. I’d prefer stronger carbonation or a thicker maltiness to take this to the next level. Tulip glass. Just above fridge temperature. Bottle purchased at Crosstown Liquor Store downtown in March 2013.

650mL bottle to taster Aroma of mango, papaya, flowers, pine, light grapefruit, and hops. Pristine clear amber with a thin white head. Very sweet and intensely hoppy, nice acidity. Medium bodied and oily.

UPDATED: APR 30, 2013 Bottle - Blast of crazy grapefruit and pine, definately let’s you know what you are in for. Crystal clear amber with a minimal but lingering head. Immediate hit of hops and bitterness, overwhelming pine which unbalances this beer to distraction. There is some sweetness but again just not enough to counterbalance the hops effectively. Draft - For autism version - Sweet crazy grapefruit. Sweet and a bit of pith, sweetness to balance. Better than the bottle, but still not as complex in flavours as I like. Mild bump in score.

In short: A heavy caramelized citrusy IPA of high intensity, eh. Very good, eh
How: Bottle 22oz, eh. Consumed relatively fresh, approximately 2 months after the bottle version was released, first and only bottling at the moment, eh
The look: Clear amber-copper body topped by a medium beige head with medium retention, eh
In long: Nose is heavy on the citrusy fruits front with also a strong hops resin character, eh. Taste has a solid caramelized malts body, very sweet but not bothersome because it is rich creamy caramelized sweetness and doesn’t feel ‘sugary’, eh. This fine malt extraction almost steals the spotlight from the citrusy hops, eh. The hopping is intensely citrusy and also rather resinous, eh. Bitterness sensation is pretty high and it is also a bitterness with a sticky sensation, eh. This is a well balanced tasty IPA, very heavy on the malt front, almost feels like a toned down SN Bigfoot, eh. I usually prefer my Double IPAs a bit more ‘refreshing’ (à-la Hill Farmstead) but as far as heavy sipper-style IPAs are concerned, this is a very good offering, eh. And in order to honor this fine Canadian beer I decided to write this rating in our native Canadian language, he. I hope you can understand it, eh.

I have good friends. Thanks goes to that dude in Van with the extra long taint. This smells awesome. Caramel, pine, orange lingerings, sweet fruit that has heaviness to it, rrgf, 16 ton anvils. This does not have a lot of complexity but there is something that is just a bit different about it. The taste is exactly what I want form an IPA - big flavours, harshness, sweetness and drinkability. similar to the aroma - i say that cuz im almost out of beer, im tired and im bored. pine, grapefruit harshness, spice pepper bite, thick fruit goo, caramel that is not overly sweet. enjoyable. I’ll expand on the review after the next bottle and i’ll try not to just enjoy my beverage....

650 ml bottle. (labeled Imperial IPA) Pours copper with very little head but lots of carbonation Aromas of pine and citrus with a hint of caramel. Very piney flavor up front followed by malt and grapefruit. Nice.

Draft sampled during HOPoxia 2012. Pours ruddy amber with foamy off-white head. Aroma is a bouquet of blended hops and sweet caramel malt. Some initial spice flavour blends with the sweetness of the malts over an underlying floral, pine and citrus hoppiness that carries into a strong bitter finish. Smooth and balanced. I had really been looking forward to this beer but found it late in the mini-festival, after my palette had already been assaulted by plenty of highly hopped beers. It’s possible I missed some of the subtleties. I’ll try it again some time and expect I’ll bump up the rating some when I do.

Crystal malt comes through for a beautiful IIPA. If I were to choose a fruit to describe it... which I will... pomegranate seems the best fit. Medium carbonation. Quite good... in fact, the winner of the Hopoxia mini-festival for me.