Hales Double Herberts Legendary Ale

Brewed by Hales Ales
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Another surprise with Oakes. Barley Wine aroma. Lighter body. Nice Barley Wine spice and flavour.

Version brewed for CBC 2006. A: The pour is sot of a murky dark amber color with a couple fingers of off-white head. S: Smells fairly oxidized as there is quite a bit of chocolate going on, but the nose is quite nice. Lots of toffee and caramel with just a hint of booze. The hops are almost all gone at this point, but there is a nice bit of citrus and pine. T: Rich caramel and toffee flavors give the beer a pleasant sweetness. Quite floral and perfumey with a little bit of citrus in there as well. Sweet fruit notes are present throughout and there’s just a mild pine and bitterness. M: Medium to full in body with a medium carbonation. O: Wasn’t expecting much from a five year old Double IPA, but it’s aged amazingly well. Like a solid barleywine at this point.

Bottle, courtesy of Doug at FSB. Dark amber, decent white head, nice lacing. Big citrus character up front, malt backbone somewhat subdued. Flavor much the same, tons of orange and grapefruit zest, caramel/crystal character come through more as it warms. Decent overall.

Draught @ Brouwer’s Café:   Orangish amber, moderate foamy off-white head, nice lacing, strong carbonation.   Sweet citrus rind nose, powdered sugar, soft hoppiness.   Good balance of malty citrusy sweetness and hops on the nose.   Bigger than you average IPA, not knowing the style.   Feels like its entering IIPA teritory.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Wished it were a little thicker given its balance.   Sweet hoppy finish, fairly clean.   Not quite an IIPA but getting close, at least in my book.   Fairly tasty otherwise.

Draft at Brouwer’s. Floral hopes dominate the aroma. Pours dark golden, almost clear with very light head. This has a great balance of hops, but a long bitter finish. Good beer overall.

On tap at Brouwers while waiting for my girlfriend to come back from work so we could go to Fred Meyers and get food for dinner. I got down to Fremont a little early and decided to grab a quick brew. My 144th Imperial IPA Rate, a style in which the average brew I rate is a 3.7. This one had a surprisingly light aroma, notes of herbal hops, a minty character, and some bread with a touch of sweetness too. Poured a light pale gold with a thin head. Light herbal, pine, and minty leafy hops with a soft sweet malt backbone. Finish is lacking IMO, as it is crisp and clean rather than full of resin.

On Tap at Brewpub Seattle. Pours out a cloudy amber topped with a hice head. GREAT hop aroma and tast a nice double.

lotsa lotsa lotsa HOPS!!!!!!! pine resin nose, somewhat citrus too. amber copper colour, some nice white head, amazing citrus pine hop flavour. had as bottle from Jason at Camerons

Had on tap at Brouwer’s in Seattle, and the menu says this was a Diamond Knot product, which made more sense to me. I’m shocked that’s it’s a Hale’s since it’s so astoundingly good. Dark amber color, amazing appearance and lacing on the glass--nearly perfect in that respect. Mostly hops, quite strong in terms of alcohol content. Very tasty and complex. I would highly recommend.

Draft at Cooper’s. Would never have guessed this was Hale’s; tap handle looks exactly like a Diamond Knot. Compare the clean, organized flavor of this to the Aftermath IIPA and you’ll be surprised, too. Big pine/resiny hop nose. Just smells yummy bitter. Dark cloudy amber with coppery gold streaks. Minimal filmy white head. Very sweet butterscotch and citurs (orange/mango) palate--both the attack and the mid-palate carry this through. Winds up with a nice tidy lingering bitter finish of pine and resin, but it’s somehow not caustically bitter. No astringency, just rich hop flavor.