Midnight Sun Obliteration V

Formerly brewed at Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Anchorage, Alaska USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Reviewed from notes. Poured into a tulip. The color is a bright orange with a nice white head and a good deal of lacing. The nose brings some citrus, pine, and a bit of tropical hops. No much of any malt in the background. Alaska is technically on the West Coast, after all, right? Emphatic yes comes from the flavor, which dominates my palate with strong citrus hops. Some pine in the background. Really nice bitter feel. Strong drinkability. Is there anything MS can’t do? Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-14-2010

Pours a caramel color with a thick sudsy head. Nose is mostly caramel and pine. Taste is bitter with caramel, not too much else, Lacks the flavor fromt he hops, which is obvious after reading they used nugget and warrior hops, and i believe it was dry hopped with amarillo. The nose was great, could have been an epic beer, but what IMO was a silly choice of hops left me wishing for more in the flavor department.

Pours dark, cider-like bronze with a thin white head. Aroma is warm and bready, with abundant caramel and fruit notes. Flavor is like an intensely rich and hearty biscuit, right from the oven, covered with delicious ’hop-syrup’. Insanely drinkable, leaving a nicely balanced bitterness in the finish. Very interesting ’inversion’ of the style. The malt backbone is extremely strong here, and probably places this ’outside the box’ for many lovers of the well-established IIPA style. I, for one, absolutely love it. Very different, and very good. I would sample it again in a heartbeat. Seek this out if you need a break from some of the ultra-cloying and ’soapy’ examples of the style. Malt ... forward ... march.

Bottle. Rich amber beer with a dark cream colored head. Grapefruit and light earth aroma. Grapefruit and light pine flavor with light caramel and summer fruits. Medium-plus bodied. Good bitterness. Grapefruit, pine, summer fruit and light caramel lingers.

22 oz. bomber that I picked up from Liquid Solutions just before they went out of business. Pours a slightly hazed golden amber, more gold than amber, with a moderate linen white head that lasted through mid-glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant aroma of caramel and oranges with just a few notes of pine and grapefruit. The flavor backs off from the aroma with lesser amounts of caramel and orange. Its still good, just not as rich or fruity as the aroma. Dries out towards the finish with moderate bitterness. No sign of the 8.2% abv. Good stuff!

22 oz bottle. Foggy orange brown with some trace white foam. Nose is orange, caramel and cat pee. Medium body with moderate carb. Taste is bitter lemon, quinine and toffee finishing with a nice hop bite. Honey sweetness with some melon.

Bomber from riversideAK - thanks, Alex! Oily and faintly murky deep orange pour. Not much of a head, but there is a thin layer of foam-as-lily-pads. I almost didn’t want to disturb the sticky formation, but it smelled so dank and delicious. Interestingly, despite the bitter hop aroma, the initial tastes were a bit too heavy on the malts (possibly on the downside of DIPA freshness?) and boozy heat. Smooth texture and a great mouthfeel. But interestingly, the beer seemed to get crisper, fresher, and more drinkable as I went on. Second Obliteration I’ve had, and another delight.

UPDATED: NOV 25, 2009 bottle poured a caramel color with a thin head. aroma has a hop blasting, citrus, resins, grapefruit, and sweetness. mouth feel is fairly light with low carbonation but remains chewy if that makes sense. flavor again is a hop thrashing, citrus, resins, pines, caramel, light bitterness, and slight malt. the aroma was a little nicer for me than the actual flavors.

Bomber by way of riversideAK. Pours clear medium amber with a one finger beige head. The nose is floral hops, caramel and citrus. The taste is overripe citrus, caramel, floral hops, toffee and peppery hops with light resin in the finish. Medium mouthfeel. Nice IIPA. Thanks again Alex!

22 oz bottle at the RateBeer Tasting. Pours a dark amber, hazy some bright notes, with a decent whitish head that laces ok. Dies to a film. Aromas are decent hopping, citrus and florals, a touch of caramel and toffee. Initial is fairly big, a big bitterness with florals and citrus, moving towards caramel and toffee underneath. The hops are interesting, florals and citrus, a faint weed and grassiness, the hops are bitter, the malts come in later. This beer is awesome. Soapy, very bitter.