4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Out of a growler at ’07 Dark Lord Day. Huge pine hop nose. Creamy yellow/tan head over an amber beer. Sharp pine resin, grapefruit rind bitterness, but tempered with a malty, caramel sweetness. Very nice mouthfeel. This is a good treatment of a very hoppy beer.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Tap at brewery and enjoyed with Tom and friends: Amber hued with a big long lasting head and very good lacing. The nose picks up a major resiny and piney overtone along with grapefruit and flowery esters. Notes of biscuit and mineral also noted.
The taste has a sharp bitterness and citric twang at first supported by a marzipan sweetness with makes this a very lush and balanced IIPA. The finish has a astringent and metallic character reminding the drinker than beer still has a lot of hop additions. Medium to full bodied with a lush center along with a quick sharp bite around the edge. ULTRA SMOOTH and TASTY, dig this hearty Midwest double IPA.
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Sampled at Schlafly’s Repeal of Prohibition Fest along with Beerdrenched. Pours lightly hazy orange with almost no head. The aroma has lots of fresh hops with a decent amount of malt back-up. Medium full body with light carbonation. Starts with lots of citric / woody hops with some mustiness and malt backbone. The finish has much of the same with some sourness. A very nice IIPA, but lack what it needs to take it to the top tier. However it still gets a thumbs up .
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
On tap at the brewpub. Lishtly hazed amber with a big resinous white head. The aroma screems grapefruit and bubble gum. Tons of rich sweet malt and loads of hop flavor, and subdued bitterness makes this an easy drinker. A touch big on the body. Other than that, another winner.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
(draught at Schlafly Repeal of Prohibition Festival) dark amber with generous head. Citrus hops aroma. Citrus/grapefruit flavor. Enough malt for balance. Great imperial IPA.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap at the brewpub. The body was slightly hazy amber with a slightly off white head. The aroma was big time grapefruit with a hint of pine. I could smell anything but the hops. The taste was lots of grapefruit alons with some light toffee. This was light in the mouthfeel for such a big beer.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap at Flossmoor
This was my final sample before leaving to drive back to the Chicago area. I tried to savor it as long as I could. If this crops up at the Great Taste in August it might make a nice capstone. A prototypical imperial IPA, it comes on strong, stays strong and finishes strong. On the other hand it does not overwhelm the senses so much that you end up gagging. With a little improvement (or perhaps a different mood) this could be a 4.0 beer.
Aroma / Appearance - The deep caramel colored body had very little head by the time I got to it. The nose was still as strong as ever. I was able to pick up a distinct grapefruit and citrus aroma that reminded me of a wet spring day. A trace of resin hid in the background.
Flavor / Palate - A thick chewy caramel taste coated every corner of my mouth. It reminded me a bit of Orange Tang. Next came the orange peel, semisweet chocolate and Nutella on rye toast. Afterwards the bitter aftertaste left a cloying feel on the tongue. It was not nearly as much of a hop bomb as I was expecting given the hop profile in every other sample but it was still definitely an IIPA.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Sampled on cask at NotLA 07. Golden amber colored with a white head. Piney oaky nose carmel and malt. Sweet carmelized malt flavors oak, citrus, pine, grapefruit, and sugar. This gets better as I go on, the grapefruit is so assertive and almost acidic on cask. Long finish with that bitter grapefruit and oak. My number two for the night.
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Smooth beautiful hoppy beer. Golden hue. Small white head. Not a really big nose. Hops, fruits, malts, caramel. Long finish. I loved sipping on this. Worth while to go get. It doesn’t come around that often.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
peach, tangerine, pineapple, orange taste. sharp sweet and sour with a clean fdry finish. Much much better then the regular IPA
|
