Saranac Imperial IPA

Brewed by Matt Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Utica, New York USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Pours a slightly hazy amber/color with about an inch of head. Aroma is caramel malt and bread. Taste follows the nose and is sweet with just a hint of bitterness. Body is medium and somewhat chewy. This is not what I expected from the style and is definitely more slanted towards the east coast/English style. If I didn’t know any better I would think this was a barleywine. This is a below average DIPA.

Aroma is caramel and medium malt scent and mild hops. Color is dark amber. Head dissipated too quickly to my taste as the head hold scent flavors longer. I feel like I lost aroma due to this. Taste I got a balanced mix of bitter and sweetness. The beer tastes similar to Sam Adams Boston Lager, but the difference is the Imperial IPA flavor is stronger, it’s the after taste that reminds me of Sam Adams. I’m not getting any specific tastes such as fruit or toffee. The carbonation is higher than I like, the feeling tended to linger on my tongue. I liked this IPA but wouldn’t buy it again. There are other big IPAs I enjoy more. I do recommend it if you just want to give it a try.

Bottled, 355ml from Burg Bieren, Ermelo, Netherlands. Amber with white head. There is a certain harshness to this, quite metallic, hard, dry hop flavour, earthy and bitter. The malts are pretty full on, grainy and a touch stewed. Didn’t quite come together for me, but still ok to drink.

Rich amber/copper color; Medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of citrus hops, pine, & caramel malt; Flavor of sweet malt, caramel/toffee, pine hops, and citrus (notably grapefruit); Finish is bitter; Overall, flavor was off - did not care for this one.

Tap @ Pony w James, Andy, Feng. Medium to dark amber, smooth bubble-less large white head, nice look. Aroma and palate are full of earthy wet hops, loose structure, kind of sloppy and sticky but I like the hop profile and the middling consistency.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a thick, well retained, ivory head, with extensive lacing, over a slightly hazy orange amber (SRM 15) body.....nose is pine, citrus, pineapple, toffee/caramel.....taste is heavy cereal, leading to pine, citrus peel, pineapple, vinous tones, with hints of apricot, finishing with a moderate bitterness....mouth feel medium, alcohol hidden, carbonation low. This is an interesting take on the I/DIPA style. It is well balanced, with the malt and hop complexities matching each other quite well. It is more nuanced than some and is much more "East Coast" or "English" than many. BJCP 7/3/14/4/7

Bottle at GBF 2012-09-07 Göteborg AR: roasted malt , coffee AP: hazy golden/Brown, wee stothy y head F: sugary, caramel, sprity, dry, salty

From a bottle at GBF 2012. CLear amber, medium off-white head. Bready malt aorma, some piney and perfumy hops. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Dry with medium bitterness.

almost 2 years expired bottle. Orange amber color, a bit hazy. Malty aromas with some hoppy hints. Very sweet and thick body, with a very high presence of the alcohol. It was really hard to enjoy this beer with such a warm temperatures we have. Not very impressed.

Cloudy copper body and creamy beige head. Dimmed red fruit, sweet soapy,roses and yeasty. More rounded off, bit well developed. Light tinteling body with quite light bitterness for a double IPA, but with enough taste. Quite fruity. Ending is more bitter. Bit spectacular but well made. Nice. (At the De Molen tasting)