3.2 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Hazy bright orange body with a tiny finger of just barely off-white head.
Aroma is heavily sweet with a moderately hoppy aroma, mostly citrus and apricot coming through. Also: booziness.
Taste is a bamboozling of malt sweetness and grassy hop flavor. I feel like this might have been a great beer in it’s time, but clearly the hop characteristics have faded. This thing is still crazy bitter though. Grapefruit rind all around. It’s full-flavored and a little sticky. Not a bad feeling. I expect that I’ll give this a really fair review if I find it again fresh.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 11/20
For a beer that uses 10 hop varieties I really didn’t get a massive hop profile in the taste. It has a pretty tasty malt backbone with notes of caramel but the hops seem drastically faded. There was no date on the bottle so I can’t tell you how old it is. Very disappointing beer considering the price and how hyped this is. Very one dimensional and bitter. Not recommended.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Orange red amber colour, off-white head. Very pronounced hops in the aroma. Very fresh, resin, flowers and citrus combat for priority. Good malty background, caramel, apricot and some honey. Malty sweet flavour, pronounced hop bitter with a salty tone in the background. Finish bitter with lingering floral hops. Very enjoyable.
(From 355 mL bottle @ home. With thanks to atxdelivery)
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Very good impy ipa big on hops but balanced well with malt alcohol warming but not boozy could have rated even higher if it had better aroma
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Strong cherry citrus aroma. The color is a really cool red and a bit cloudy. Extremely smooth and heavy on the palate. Hops are intense but balanced nicely with floral notes. Aftertaste is pleasantly bitter. Alcohol well hidden.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
(bottle) Cloudy golden-orange color with rich white head and abundant lacing. 12% ABV well hidden by the intense hop flavor. Hops are bitter & complex with layers of sweetness as sipped. More sophisticated than expected for this style. This is unique offering from one of my favorite brewers.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled 6/2/2011. Pours slightly hazy brick red color with a small 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Some decent lacing clinging to the glass as well. Aromas of big mango, orange, grapefruit, pine resin, floral, caramel, and some toasted malts. Some excellent aromas here with good strength and balance. Taste of big orange, mango, pine, lemon zest, caramel, toasted malt, and spiciness. Big sweetness in the front that leads to a strong brutal bitterness on the finish that lasts. Lingering notes of caramel, citrus, pine, and spiciness on the finish for a while. Medium carbonation and full bodied; with a very creamy and slick mouthfeel that goes down smoothly, but is still a sipper. Alcohol is extremely well hidden for 12%, the warming on the finish is barely noticeable. Great balance of flavor and bitterness. Overall, an excellent and tasty Imperial IPA from Founders.
3.9 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Great aroma of flowery, piney, citrusy hops and a little bread. Nice deep orange with bubbles, a few particles, no head. Full bodied, some alcohol but not too much. Taste is quite bitter hops with multiple flavors, there is malt to back it up and even a little sticky sweetness. It’s kind of ridiculous but interesting, worth going back to but probably not on a regular basis.
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