Oskar Blues G’Knight Imperial Red

Brewed by Oskar Blues Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Longmont, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Shared at the 12/18/04 Wisconsin gathering: Pours a murky ruby brown with a thick and well-lacing white head. Aroma is semi-sweet, earthy, and milk chocolatey with plenty of fresh US hops. Body has a dry corky flavor with decent hop presence and balance. This has a different malt billing than most double IPAs, but it seems to mesh together well. Thanks DavidP!

Good for it’s style with lots of hops and balancing malt. A potent lacey mix with cloudy yellow and beige head. Hoppy "C" aroma. Some citrus, drying aftertaste.

Can @ Aarhus tasting. Hazy amber with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel and moderate hoppy - citrus. Flavor is quite sweet and rather bitter. Dry and rather bitter finish. 231012

Sampled from a can at RBSG. Darker than expected, clear, crisp brown and amber colored body. Rich, spicy hops, crisp, brash, rich, strong, husky hops, almost metallic. Moderately thick, quite rich, but tinny as well. Overall it’s a middle of the road DIPA.

UPDATED: FEB 21, 2010 Any first impressions?
-Convenient lacing is drawn by the ring of head atop the hazy reddish glow.
-Fruity maltiness rises to the nose, alongside potent leafy and citrusy C-hops.
-Berries aplenty thrive in this resinous hop grove.
-Soft effervescence is fitting, propelling all flavors in unison.

What if you dig deeper?
-Resinous hops give plenty of bitterness to satisfy the double IPA lover.
-The rich body and fruity, hop-inclined flavor profile seem to be a distant cousin of Bigfoot.
-Not your typical Double IPA at all; a well-malted, well-hopped strong ale which screams American Craft Brew Revolution.
-By the way, this was a superb accompaniment to végé-pâté on miche campagnarde.

Cans.

Can at home in Salisbury, CT. Pours foggy orange with a creamy head. Huge, rich hop aroma, orange and grapefruit, oily coconut, grass and pine, tons of caramel and toasty bread. Medium to big sweet flavor, lots of caramel, candy, demerera sugar, pine, ripe citrus, light alcohol. Full bodied with average carbonation. Warm, sticky finish, oily pine, toasted caramel. Despite the intensity of character in this beer, there is still a crisp, refreshing aspect to it, which is very nice.

A: A deep reddish amber color with a finger or so of white head. Some lacing is present, but not too much. S: The initial sniff gives an aroma of earthy hops. Subsequent sniffs provide some grapefruit and pine. The hop character is followed by a doughy malt scent. T: This beer was only very slightly chilled, so the sweet flavors really came out. There was some very light citrus flavor, a very prominent pineapple flavor, and a slight maltiness midway through the sip. The finish is slightly bitter and piney. M: Not too much in the way of carbonation on this beer. The body is medium to full. D: Such an easy drinking DIPA. It’s more malty and sweet than I generally like (I’m not sure how old it is), but great flavors and nothing unpleasant.

Draft at Capone’s. Turbid deep coppery color with 1-finger off-white head. Aroma of heavy hops, caramel malt, slight cherry, and slight rauchiness. The flavor was very hoppy, but very well balanced by a huge malt bill, with notes of slight fruit and pepper. Dense, very complex palate. This is an outstanding beer.

Canned. Poured a deep translucent copper with a short-lived cap of white head. Nose picked up lots of juicy fruits that I’m a sucker for (pear, grapefruit, sliced melon) and some rummy caramel. Flavor found tangy and juicy fruit bitterness that coated the mouth well... pears and grapefruit at the finish.. sticky. This had some sharper alcohol and bitter points around the tongue and was thick and almost syrupy on the back-end. Good stuff overall.

Huh. How did I miss rating this? Can from Market Street Wineshop Downtown Charlottesville. The following is my review from cvillebeergeek.blogspot.com

Appearance: Pours a dark, dark amber with a medium sized frothy head. The head doesn’t stick around but leaves a thick layer of lacing around the glass. This has the look of an imperial IPA. 4.0/5.0

Aroma: Big hop profile... mostly citrus but also some pine. Big hops, but not too assertive. Fairly well balanced. 3.5/5.0

Taste: The hops come through right up front. They have an assertive but soft character. This is balanced fairly well by a nice malty sweetness. I can’t detect any of the "canniness" that Chris fears so much. Still, there seems to be something missing. 3.5/5.0

Mouthfeel: The hops are strong, but not too sharp. That being said, if you’re not a fan of hoppy beers, this probably won’t be your cup of tea. Medium body with a sticky, oily texture. 4.0/5.0

Drinkability: The relatively high alcohol content is well hidden, and if you are a "hop head," this one goes down easy. That being said, this is not a beer for the uninitiated. The stickyness leads to a heavy, warm feeling in the belly after a while. 4.0/5.0

Overall: 3.70/5.00. This is a good beer, but not outstanding. That being said, it’s the best beer I’ve ever had out of a can. That being said, that’s not saying all that much. That being said, it’s still a mighty fine beer. It is a bit pricy. I can’t remember exactly, but I think I paid $3.69 for it at Market Street Wine Shop downtown.