Maritime Pacific Imperial Pale Ale

Brewed by Maritime Pacific Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Seattle, Washington USA

This draft brew from a restaurant poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized white colored bubbles that were and left behind a transparent softly carbonated golden brown colored body and a good lacing. The aroma was malt hop. The crisp mouth feel was very tingly at the start and at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt and hops. A decent one that I would consider buying again.

Draught pint at Redbones on 11/7/06
Very pale-gold colored beer is mostly clear, with just a slight chill haze. Some hay and platinum tints add to the striking lucidity, while a creamy, well-retained white head, bountifully tops the liquid, leaving a fair amount of thick lacing as it recedes.
Fruity, heavily dry-hopped nose is wonderfully aromatic and lacks any obnoxious bitterness or malt interference. This keg was specially dry-hopped for Redbones, so the score might be a little higher than in the bottle? Not overly complex, but I must say, I love cascade hops. Medium sweet, juicy orange and red grapefruit notes provide both vigor and comfort on the nose, backed by light pale malt sugariness. Growing more dry, and with a more reserved fruitiness, as it progresses, the hops remain, nevertheless, very juicy and "green". Clean, no alcohol showing through. Nothing that hasnt been done before, or done with more complexity, for sure, but it still shows promise and even a slight hint of tropical fruitiness (mango, mostly). At the very least, it is greatly focused on aromatics and not bitterness.
A medium-full body is quickly noticeable, though it’s not full of overly sweet/sugary malt notes. Dextrinous and quite dense, it’s well-matched by the frothy carbonation that processes the malt, adding juicy bits of citrus hop notes in its place. Green, flavorful and with a wholesome drying nature (no alcohol or heavy acidity used to dry), it continues to add orange and grapefruit notes, with very light mangoes, yellow cherries and some nectarines. After the hops begin to assert themselves, aided by the carbonation, the malt never seems too heavy, though it certainly is present all the way through, making quite a meal out of the beer. Well-done stuff, if slightly uninspiring in hop complexity. No alcohol or flaws notable.

Bottle. Gold with a thick lasting head. Funky grain and cereal aroma with dark peppery hop notes. Very different for a IIPA. European cereal malt flavour with dark hops. I don’t get the citrus! Soft pepper but a weird IIPA.

Bottle. Amber beer with a nice off-white head. Big sweet orange aroma with some backing caramel. Grapefruit and orange hop flavor with a bit of resin and some underlying vanilla. Lots of hop flavor with decent hop bitterness. Grapefruit bitterness lingers. The wheat helps make it a bit too drinkable.

Not very good. It does have a pleasant citrus hop aroma and promises to be a bitter, flavorful beer. Some grain, alcohol, and metal, all make the flavor unappealing.

Bottle: Golden, fairly clear, moderate off-white foamy head, attractive lacing, light carbonation.   Malty/cereal aroma, definite hop punch on the nostrils.   Smooth malty start, subtle bitterness that begins to sneak on you before the finish.   Seems a fairly light American Strong Ale, but quite appropriate for the Imperial Pale Ale title.   Decent hop and malt balance at the finish, with the hop bitterness lingering well beyond.   Not hoppy enough for an IPA, at least here on the west coast, but definitely an assertive Pale Ale.   Body and mouthfeel seem quite hefty, at least rather fulfilling.   This is most definitely a big Pale Ale.   I can see why this is one of their more popular brews, locally at least.   Definitely worth a try on a visit to Seattle.

Draft at The Brooklyn, downtown Seattle. Medium straw, crystal clear, thin white film atop, heavy lace. Big bready nose, a little bit of sour too. Nice firm body, good carb. Nutty, toasty, resin and pine finish. Nice stuff.

On tap at Brouwer’s Café in Seattle where it was listed as “Maritime Pacific Dry Hopped Imperial IPA.”

It poured a crystal clear gold with lasting white head and sheet lacing. The aroma is pale sugary malts, some mild breadiness and faint vague hoppiness. The taste seems malty up front with sugary sweet malts and notes of bread. Then the hop ante up with vague tart bitterness initially then about midway some grapefruit hop bitterness surfaces. As the finish approaches the pine hop bitterness grows and heads right into the after taste. The pine really hangs around for a while. YUM.