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Goose Island Imperial IPA

Percentile
99
overall

bottled
available

on tap
common

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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
5854.01/5.04/5.0Winter9.2%97.2Snifter, Tulip
Commercial Description:
Traditionally, there are a lot of rules when it comes to brewing great beer. The fact that American craft brewers have broken those rules to produce some of the world’s finest beers is downright heroic. At Goose Island we live and die by hops, so breaking the rules meant pushing the hop limit to the extreme to create this monster Imperial IPA. We took three of our favorite hops, TETTNANG, SIMCOE, and CASCADE, and balanced their spiciness with tons of malt. Them we went back and dumped in MORE HOPS and more malt until this beer was exploding with flavor...strong enough to wake the dead and filled with more bitterness than a woman scorned. This Imperial IPA is absolutely gigantic, you’ll smell the hops from about a yard away. What will surprise you is how incredibly drinkable it is. Pair it up with the saltiest blue cheese you can find, and go nuts.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 Schultsc (482), Henderson, Nevada, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/517/20
Aug 4, 2007    Updated: Oct 13, 2008
Burnished dark gold with a slight, thin head. Sweet caramel malt aromas with caramelized citrus peel and dark resinous pine. Dark candied hops flavors with some malt and alcohol sweetness and earthy bitterness. The body is a bit syurpy with alocohol and malt sweetness which finishes with strong, thick bitterness.


 grimreeser (796), Minnesota, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/516/20
Jul 15, 2007  
Pours a cloudy orange with a smallish head. Nice malty aroma of caramel with some grapefruit coming through. Good strong bitterness, but not too strong. Some sweetness comes through as well. Seems like a barleywine and IIPA cross.


 Brigadier (1230), Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/515/20
Jul 10, 2007  
12 oz bottle

This was a bottle which I found at the store around Thanksgiving. It may have sat for a bit too long in the cellar to be super fresh but it was still satisfying. I’ll have to open a fresh bottle as comparison when the 2007 batch is released at the end of this year. This one has taken on some of the characteristics of a strong ale or barleywine.

Aroma / Appearance - The pour resulted in a carbonated hazy orange body with a thin beige head. A huge thick wall of lacing slid down the sides slowly as I took sips. Subdued caramel, grapefruit, pine nuts and cotton candy form the basis of the aroma which is supported by tea leaves and peach. Some of the hoppiness was probably much sharper when it was just bottled but it still had quite a punch.

Flavor / Palate - A malty chewy mouthfeel coats the corners of the mouth before the hops become evident. A peppery bite is offset by a bit of sourness, pine bark, chocolate shavings and dried pineapple slices. The full body does not disappoint but it does not stand out either. This is very solid and strong even after a few months.


 xenthem0nk (101), Oregon, USA
4.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/105/510/105/519/20
Jul 6, 2007  
Wow, what a brew. Amazing balance. Pours a bit darker gold, tons of grapefruit and cream in the nose, tons of hops, had a strong aroma. Flavor is packed with hops, malt, slight floral, fruits peels. Mouthfeel was smooth and silky. Love this IPA.


 oh6gdx (8838), Vasa, Finland
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Jul 6, 2007  
Bottlerd. Golden colour, mediumsized white head. Aroma is bigtime hops, caramel and a lot of fruits. Flavour is fruity hops, caramel, toffee and some slight hints of alcohol, all mixed in an excellent balance.


 omhper (12171), Stockholm, Sweden
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/103/515/20
Jul 3, 2007    Updated: Jul 6, 2007
<i<Bottled. Cloudy golden, brief head. Generous aroma of lychee and kumquat. Sweet amd perfumy with rounded mouthfeel. Lots of sweet malt to back up all the fresh, aromatic hops. Long bitter finish. Superb kumquat-like hop flavour that I absolutely love.


 TBone (6740), Pori, Finland
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/514/20
Jul 2, 2007  
Bottled, alc. 9 % (BB 03/2007)
Slightly hazy orange-brown color, not much head. Citrus, rye bread, horse blanket and wood in the nose. Hop juice - quite full-bodied brew. Sweetish, citrusy hoppy with pinewood and apple flavors. Long hoppy aftertaste. Fruity and solid impy IPA.


 hopson (594), Williamsville, New York, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/103/516/20
Jul 2, 2007  
Draft: Not as impressed as I thought I would be. Real stickey/pineyness with a serious alcohol presence. Not very well balanced, and the body was a little thin for my liking. Still enjoyable, but I was expecting more.



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