Portsmouth Imperial IPA

Brewed by Portsmouth Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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on tap at the brewpub. Amber in color with a medium off white head. Aroma has a ton of resinous, piney hops with notes of earth and grass. Taste is very big with pine and earthy hops, a strong bitterness throughout. The body is full and has a big caramel malt backbone. Finishes bitter and it lingers nicely well after the finish. I think the citrus aspects could have been a bit brighter, but this is still a very good IIPA.

Tap at VBF, thick white head, hoppy aroma, a nice deep hazy golden color. Nice citrus, hoppy beer with a dry finish. A great summer beer.

22oz bottle, generously provided by joepais, poured into a Portsmouth tulip from Joe as well. Pours a hazy brownish amber with a fluffy white head that clings to the side of glass and recedes slowly, leaving a cap for the duration. The aroma is very balanced. Starts with llots of bittersweet citrus hops up front - grapefruit, oranges, mangos, etc. The balance is provided by the more than healthy dose of caramel sweetness. Sticky citrus and pine hops dominate the front end of the taste and provide a pretty pungent pop. The caramel malts provide a bit of balance in the middle but don’t hold out very long as the big hop bitterness explodes in the finish. The flavor actually seems slightly more hop-forward than the aroma. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with plenty of carbonation, but it’s the sticky bittersweet hops that play all of the palate. This is a great and fairly balance DIPA that has kept quite a hop profile even after 6+ months.

Pours dark copper with a chill haze. A half inch head of white rose up before creeping back to a partial skim-coat. Errant dots of lacework for the duration. Aromatics are pungently hoppy. Resinous with a bitter promise. This one’s a mix of pine, tropical fruit, and light malt. Tangerines, spruce sap, melons, sugared grapefruit, and dried apricots. Earthy-like conifer bark, and pear pulp. Medium bodied, but a bit chewy and plenty sticky. The pallet leads off with ripe citrus fruit, pine dew, and a firm bitterness. Zesty hops and quite piney. Balancing malt steps up and some warming alcohol builds with a more drying bitterness. Finishes with lingering bitterness and citrus zest. Very tasty, but coming short on the nose. With a IIPA this fresh, it should be screaming out of the glass with floral pungentness

Wow- I had no idea this beer was so rare. Probably should have saved it until a gathering. Too late now. Bomber from the brewery brougth back from Hophead75 on his latest trip in Dec I think. Pours a very hazy murky straight amber with a merangue -like off white head and crazy lace- there is a shitload of hops and other sediment floating aroud in there and I didnt even pour the bottom of the bottle yet. Aroma is piney and pine-sollike hops, some resin and lots of mint and earthy cold smokey chinook hops. Flavor is at first very mellow- with nice piney and minty hops upfront and a nice smooth lasting light crystal malt backbone- and then the raw tacky bitterness of the PNW hops kicks in . Feels and tastes suprisingly clean despite a shitload of sediment going all over the place in my glass. Actually, I kinda liked this one a bit more than I had thought. Nice DIPA.

Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured a hazy copper color with an average frothy white head that mostly lasted with fair lacing. Moderate to heavy complex earthy and resin hop aroma with a small alcohol tone. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium bittersweet and small alcohol bite finish of moderate to long duration. My expectations where exceeded.

[bottle from the brewpub] Pours a gleaming copper color, with a nice white head and some serious lacing around the glass. Grassy, piney hop aroma-- very nice. Citrus flavors up front, like orange and grapefruit, with some amazing finishing hops, providing an impressive, lasting bitterness. Alcohol content is kind of subtle, but still noticable. A really nice IIPA, overall.

Deep reddish orange color and beautiful two finger head. Lacing like a spider web covered every square centimeter of the glass. I had this one right after the 5C IPA, and despite this one being higher abv, was much milder and more drinkable. Flavor was grapefruits and tangerine flavored hops, moderate level of bitterness and fruity malt sweet. Mouthfeel was smooth but now watery. The alcohol presence was noticeable without any burn. Nice.

Bottle. Powerful aroma of citrus, hops, pine. Thick mouth feel. Flavor of grapefruit, floral and a solid hop bitter finish.

Bottle:   Deep amber in color, sediment is heavy, head off-white, huge and rocky, lacing is very sticky.   Sweet rind on the nose, pale floral, soft hop & pine.   Smells delish!   Somewhat of a soft alcoholic hop bite at the start, without a big malt backside.   Lingering rind and pine needles.   Not overly bitter, but enough to warrant more malts that aren’t there.   Seems more of a 1½ IPA.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Clean finish, lingering bitterness.   Warming, but not overly alcoholic.   Very flavorful, but could stand to be a bit bigger and stickier.   Otherwise, it was rather enjoyable.   Thanks Jeff!