 Brigadier (900), Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
Mar 19, 2008
Cleveland tasting
Thanks to Dawn for bringing this from the other coast. I wasn’t expecting to get to try so many top rated beers in a single session so my palate was not ready for the hops explosion. This is an excellent imperial IPA. Once I adjusted it became clear that while it is not quite the best it still deserves most of the accolades heaped on it.
Aroma / Appearance - The nose is not quite as aggressive as what I was expecting from something "uberhoppy" but it still wakes one up. The resin and piney hops are crisp and dominating. The smooth peachiness is evident only after a little reflecting. The caramel/amber body is a beauty to swirl around the glass.
Flavor / Palate - The hops dominate the session from start to finish. Anything left on the palate before is just destroyed by the wave of West Coast aggression. Caramel malt keeps things in check just enough to prevent it from being one dimensional. For a double IPA it is very drinkable. I’d love to get my hands on another bottle at some point or try it fresh off a tap.
ironchefscott (243), long beach, California, USA
Oct 5, 2008 tasted off of a growler....a decent beer...but it tastes kinda grassy and lacking in the hop complexity that I assume with a top 50 beer.....and it just was rough on the edges...and super overpowering hop flavor
doubleo (825), San Diego, California, USA
Sep 22, 2008 Big thanks to Hophead84 for letting me swill off his growler. Pours hazy amber with a moderate sized white head, some lace. Smells dark citrusy and slightly floral, caramelly as well. Tastes caramelly malty sweet with some very dark, bitter citrus hop flavors. Lots of alcohol flavor as well. Full body, somewhat subdued carbonation.
Hophead22 (252), Redlands, California, USA
Sep 21, 2008 Tap at brewery. This was a great beer. Poured a dark orangish color, very dark DIPA. Nice hop bitterness, with a good malt backbone. Just outstanding.
Taverner (475), San Ramon, California, USA
Sep 13, 2008 On tap at VB. One thing I can say about this IIPA is that it is balanced. The malt is caramel in flavor, and the hop profile just tastes green! It is like drinking hop juice. Lots of florals in this one, but not that acidic (doesn’t seem to be high in Alpha Hops.) The aftertaste is a nice, grassy note that sicks around for a while. Excellent IPA that really isn’t like any other I’ve had. It almost has a cask conditioned flavor to it. The only downside was that it had a strong alcohol burn to it - this was more so fresh. After some oxidization from "growler conditioning" for an hour (the ride home) some of the fire died down.
pinkzambia (889), Boise, Idaho, USA
Sep 11, 2008 Tap @ Bistro - Hayward: Deep copper color, murky with a white head. Tangy hop aroma with a perfumy hop flavor, followed by a thick aftertaste with a weird grainy and malty flavor as well. Good to the last drop.
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