Midnight Sun Cohoho Imperial IPA

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Anchorage, Alaska USA

6/11/2009: Midnight Sun CoHoHo Imperial I.P.A. has a sugary aroma of caramel, prune, hints of spicy honey, aged/dried apricot, pineapple, and other dried and candied citrus. It is deep gold, almost amber in color and surprisingly clear. It has a thin, frothy, dark beige head. The flavor is mostly like citrus peel and red grapefruit with brown sugar and lightly caramelized malt sprinkled throughout. The beer has a moderate level of bitterness overall with a sprucy finish that is slightly dry. The body of this beer is medium to medium-full and it is smooth. I think that this beer would age well over time and already seems to be doing quite well as I don’t think that this is a particularly fresh bottle; it is on its way to becoming a fine barleywine!

22 Fl. Oz. bottle (8.0% Alcohol by Volume - 85 IBUs; Month & Week Bottled: JAN 5) from Safeway in Seward, Alaska. Rating #228 for this beer.

Bottle. Pours rather dark for an DIPA with a nice frothy head. Aromas of malts and hops and some spices. The flavors are a mixture of herbs, pine, malts and some sweetness, perhaps due to the honey. All the components work nicely together, the added junipers do not overpower the hops character and there is a nice sweetness. Very good.

Courtesy of fishingnet. Pours deep copper with white head. The aroma is a pleasing mixture of pine hops, resiny hops and thick malts that smell sort of chewy. The taste mirrors the nose somewhat. I get full resiny pine hop bitter goodness flowing to and through a thin layer of rich sweet maltiness. The hops are big and play well against the modest sweet malts. Yum. It ends somewhat sweet with lingering pine hoppiness fading into the background and yet somehow urging you on to take another drink. I will.

Bomber courtesy of writerjlberg. Pours clear dark amber with a one finger beige head. The nose is sweet citrus and caramel. The taste is caramel, citrus and some pine in the finish. Medium mouthfeel. Good stuff, despite being 5-6 months old. I’d love to try this fresh. Thanks again Luke!

22. Pours crystal-clear, slightly rubied medium amber. Thick, sudsy tan head. Plenty of lacing showing. Nice big nose of pine, peach, and apricot. Definite doughy malts showing through. Creamy medium body carrying lots of tree fruit on the mid-palate, followed by all kinds of cookie dough stuff; sweet malt, brown sugar, and then a nice tidy pine finish. Riverside pretty much nailed it with his rate. Good stuff.

Auburn pour with a nice fluffy head and good lace. Nose of citrus hops, some fruity notes, brown sugar, and sweeter malts. The flavor is initially a burst of citrus hops followed by notes of brown sugar, honey, caramel, juniper appears in there, as it is all brought together by a resiny pine finish. Really nice drinker. Not overly bitter, but well put together and enjoyable.

Poured a nice copper. Nose is sweet citrus hops and sweet malts. Flavor is resiney, pine and sweet malts mixed with citrus hop goodness.

Thanks to tasting group for the share. Pours copper-amber with an off-white head. Nose is malt, pine, and some hints of red grapefruit. Flavor is caramel, pine, and a nice hop punch. Finish lingers with malty pine. Very enjoyable and lots of malt.