Garrison Imperial I.P.A.

Brewed by Garrison Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Halifax, Canada

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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UPDATED: NOV 1, 2008 Bottle. Now this was a refreshing change. Caramel, sweet hops and malt. Cloudy amber brown in colour with a good whitish head that stays. Nice texture, expected it to be stronger in flavour but this was’nt a bad thing as it hits later. Good balance of bitterness with the malt. Fruity. Just as I was getting tired with Garrison I try this. Much , much better than its other beers. Has to be the best Ive tried from this brewery. Very nice beer.

650ml Bottle. Aroma is very floral and sweet with hints of citrus, vanilla, caramel malts. Taste is very impressive. Earthy, licorice notes, a bit of pine, juicy mango, grapefruit and vanilla. Nice malt in the background, almost cakelike! Medium bodied, uncluttered and balanced with a long long finish. This is right up there with the big boys, one of the best I have found.

Bottle (650ml) shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, tupalev & jerc -- courtesy of tupalev. Pours a hazy dark orange with an average size diminishing creamy off-white head. Aroma: Holy cow that smells great! Lots of fresh green hops backed by caramel malt and a hint of spices. Flavour is hops, hops, hops backed by caramel malt -- so damn tasty. Alcohol’s well hidden. Average to medium bodied. Wow, I was not expecting this -- this is a fantastic IPA!

UPDATED: DEC 24, 2008 2008-11. On tap a tap couple of places in Halifax it was a touch variable in terms of hop content. At its best it was super resiny with loads of leafy hops. At its less good it was still a very solid IPA. Added +1 to the overall. <P>Bottle, unfiltered. Hazy orangey amber with a good creamy white head. (3+) Hoppy aroma is green and leafy with notes of grapefruit and tangerine citrus. (7+) Pleasant bitterness throughout the flavour, melange of lightly acidic, bitter citrus. Light resiny leafy notes. (7+) Average palate suits the beer. (3+) A very nice hoppy brew, easily Garrison’s best offering by far. 8/4/7+/3/16

650mL bottle. 6.9%. Hazy coppery color with bubbly/frothy tan head leaving some lace. Aroma: you guessed it, hops. Fresh & resiny with hints of tangy citrus. Some slight roasty malt character peeking through for good balance. Mouthfeel is medium and a bit oily feeling. Flavor is cake at first with the grapefruit hops soon taking over, leaving a verry bitter aftertaste behind. Alcohol is well hidden in this beer and is very warming. I think this may be the best IPA in the Maritimes now..Verrry Nice!

Disregard the first three ratings - they were from a first, single trial batch made for the festival, with the remnants bottled. This beer is now out in a 6.9% abv, unfiltered and dry hopped version. Full ahead IPA with west coast hops and malt in a very inviting nose. Slightly hazy due to lack of filtering, which keeps the full flavour in. Hop/malt balance with a long long finish. Suddenly, almost from nowhere, a brewery famous for making "safe" beers produces one of the best beers in the country. Go figure.

POurs hazy amber with heavy hop notes of citrus and spice on the nose. The notes of earthern woods show on the palate with a decent amount of bitterness. The finish is nice and balanced.

UPDATED: JAN 9, 2008 341 ml bottle, unfiltered, re-rated blind side by side with Propeller IPA. Hazy red amber colour with a mostly lasting frothy off-white head. Orange, bready, grapefruit, tangerine, woody, light pine, and rich caramel aroma. Bready, caramel, and orangey malts with a citrus, light pine, light resin, and grapefruit pithy bitter finish. Medium bodied, juicy mouthfeel. Very easy drinking. Overall I prefer the Garrison compared to Propeller IPA, but the Propeller comes across as the more complex of the two. Certainly nice to have both of them around. 8/4/8/5/16

Samples from tap at the Halifax Seaport Beerfest:

Unfiltered version - Cloudy amber colour with a mostly lasting frothy off-white head. Fruity, grapefruit, lime, light pine, and woody hop aroma with caramel notes. Lightly yeasty, lots of citrusy hops - lime, grapefruit, and orange peel - along with woody, pine, and earthy bitter flavours. Medium to full bodied, smooth and very drinkable. 8/4/7/4/15

Filtered version is much the same as unfiltered - clear amber colour with a mostly lasting frothy off-white head. Less yeasty obviously, with orangey malts and a bit more caramel malt coming through to balance the grapefruit and woodiness of the hops. Same numbers for both, both very good stuff.

Picked this up at Garrison in halifax. pours a nice maber with good amount of headm decent lacing as well. Not alot of nose which is odd, expecting big hops on the nose but nothing really, good hop taste wow for a Canadian Imperial pale its great!!! odd finish but still i like this one all hops , decent malt to balance well done but needs to have some dry hoping for a decnt hop nose.