Highland Imperial Kashmir India Pale Ale

Vintage 2007. 22oz bottle. Aroma of an aged IIPA. Amazing due to this being a New beer. Deep copper color. Flavor of a musty, aged, IIPA. Big malt character. Lots of malt. Lots of malt character! Munich malts?? I love this beer! Sweet and super citrus hop. Tastes like its a 4 years old Dreadnaught. LOVE IT!

Shared by Doughboy at Steve’s, what a treat! Poured rather hazy coppery orange from bomber. Aroma of sweet caramels, grapefruits, pine resins. Full bodied, full on pine resin with a strong grapefruit and hop character. The beer is exceptionally smooth and begs to be drank, over and over etc. I would love to try it on tap, what a kick ass beer from NC!! Thanks Ed!

Bottle: Deep caramel, large foamy off-white head, sticky lacing.   Looks great!   Caramel malts, slight hop, sweet citrus peel on the nose.   Smells very familiar... oddly similar to Dicks Bottleworks IPA.   Oh man, quite thick and viscous on the tongue, but not cloying.   Getting a good malt base, seems to be caramel malts, along with sweetened citrus peel, tobacco leaves, and a slight floral hop presense.   Yeah, this one really brings me back to a Dicks Bottleworks IPA I had about two months ago.   I love this style of IIPA, good and thick, not overly bitter, with a good sweetness to counteract the bitterness.   In my opinion, totally balanced.   I spoze its almost nearing Barleywine territory with its maltiness.   Body and mouthfeel are, you guessed it, fairly full.   Clean, flavorful, and well balanced.   Glad that Tom, OldGrowth, sent me a few of these.   Thanks Tom, this is good stuff!   Oh, and the 10.2% ABV isn’t really noticeable.   It packs a punch, but is neither very hot or alcholic.   A sleeper IIPA for sure.   Beats the piss out of most of the hop dominated IIPAs that are out there.   Long live the malt!!!

I paid $10 for this bomber, it better be good. The beer is a hazy dark tan color, smallish head. The aroma is detectable from accross the room. It has a fruitier aroma, more like apricot or mango as opposed to the citrus you expect. Very pleasant though, top marks on aroma. The taste is fantastic as well. Very bitter and hoppy, but balanced enough. Has that elusive almost shockingly hoppy quality I love in a big DIPA. This is one of the best beers I’ve every had, I’m definately enjoying this one. I’d say its way underrated, definately blows away the 90 minute and many other rated higher.

Appearance: Pours a rich, clear dark amber body with a lush, creamy off-white head. Smell: Pungent, redolent aroma of resinous pine and fresh-smelling citrus fruits. Plenty of caramel malt ready to balance things out, though. As the beer warms and is allowed the breath, the alcohol really begins to perk up, as does a bright spice character. Taste: The hops do not wait for the caramel flavor and sweetness to dissipate, right away you get smacked with the fruity citrus, pine needles, and all the bitterness help within. A distinct spiciness continues to build throughout. The hops and bitterness hold on relentlessly into the aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Hmm, I’d place it at the high-end of medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Rich, luscious mouthfeel. Drinkability: Quite nice. I look forward to seeing how this one ages and whether or not Highland will continue this trend of releasing an imperialized version of their current beer line. An Imperial Black Mocha Stout might be nice.