Goose Island Imperial IPA

Another beer I ordered at TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery 9th Anniversary Party was the Goose Island Imperial IPA. The beer pours a caramel color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, orange, lemon, candy, and pine. The taste is bitter yet sweet with caramel and hops. Tangerine, orange, grapefruit, sugary candy, and passion fruit all arrive on the tongue and make quite a delicious brew. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This was a great Imperial IPA with tons of fruit and bitter hops. A light bit of hop oil remains on the tongue to let this beer linger, which I didn’t mind at all.

Fort Collins Incredible Hop Imperial India Pale Ale

I picked up a bottle of Fort Collins Incredible Hop Imperial India Pale Ale from the brewery and brought it home to share with friends. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy off-white colored head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, orange, pine, and spruce. The taste is smooth and creamy with a huge caramel base. The finish actually makes the beer with a spicy pine and spruce bite that brings out the citrus flavors of tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. The alcohol content is 10.8% ABV. I’d say this beer is a little too malty and sweet, but at least the finish is somewhat redeeming and gives it some bitterness.

Leinenkugel Big Eddy Imperial IPA

My friends and I stopped in to the Leinenkugel Beer Garden in Baltimore and I ordered a glass of Big Eddy Imperial IPA. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of orange, pineapple, tangerine, pine, and pepper. The taste is citrusy with orange, tangerine, pineapple, and passion fruit. The finish has more citrus with pepper and pine spices, and it leaves a fruit cup after taste. The alcohol content is 8.9% ABV. I was moderately impressed with this offering from Leinenkugel, but the fruit cup after taste was a little off-putting for me.

Brew Kettle Old 21 Imperial IPA

I received a bottle of Brew Kettle Old 21 Imperial IPA from Cleveland Food and Brews in a beer trade. This was my first exposure to Brew Kettle, so I was excited to check out a new brewery. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, tangerine, and orange. The taste is a little bitter but has a big caramel base with lemon, orange, and tangerine citrus flavors. A pepper finish blends all of the flavors together nicely. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I’d say this beer is very clean and pretty well done, with all of the flavors blending adequately and balancing each other.

Three Floyds Dreadnaught

I ordered a glass of Three Floyds Dreadnaught on draft on a recent trip. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, hop oils, resin, and orange. The taste is bitter and dry with a large citrus profile comprised of orange, tangerine, and plenty of grapefruit. There is an oily and resiny finish that lingers for a while. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This is an excellent Imperial IPA that has all the right citrus flavors and hop oils. I’ve had this beer in a bottle before, but having it fresh on draft was unbeatable. It really lingered for a while with the oils, and it was an excellent example of a bitter hop bomb.

Green Flash Palate Wrecker

I picked up a four-pack of Green Flash Palate Wrecker from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a beautiful amber color with a lofty and frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of tangerine, orange, grapefruit, marijuana, pepper, and spruce. The taste is bitter dry with tangerine, pink grapefruit, orange, and lemon citrus flavors on the front end. Pepper and spruce come out and completely dry the mouth and leaves a thin film on the mouth. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This was such a wonderfully bitter beer with so much citrus flavor. The aroma reminded me of the hop candies that are sold at various places, and the flavor was even better.

Saranac High Peaks Imperial IPA

I picked up a bottle of Saranac High Peaks Imperial IPA from a bottle shop in Ithaca following the LeBleu release. The beer pours a copper color with an extremely lofty and frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, orange, tangerine, lemon, and pepper, but definitely errs on the sweet side of those aromas rather than the bitter side. The taste is more bitter than the aroma suggests, but not overly so. There is orange, tangerine, and a hint of grapefruit. The base is built upon caramel and toffee, with a pine and pepper finish. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. So, this beer was not the most bitter Imperial IPA or most complex, but for $2 per bottle that I paid, it was a good deal. Saranac usually doesn’t blow me away, but makes an affordable and drinkable beer. This beer is right down that alley, but it does come through with some bitterness on the finish.

Laughing Dog Devil Dog Imperial IPA

I stopped in to Al’s of Hampden to kill time prior to my work holiday party and ordered a glass of Laughing Dog Devil Dog Imperial IPA. The beer pours an orange amber color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, tangerine, grapefruit, and sugar. The taste is sweet with lots of caramel on the front end before a light bitterness with grapefruit, tangerine, and orange comes out on the tongue. The finish has a spicy pine and pepper flavor. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. I thought this was a decent Imperial IPA, but it falls on the sweeter side rather than the bitter side. So be warned that this beer is not a hop bomb.

Coast Brewing Boy King Imperial India Pale Ale

I received a bottle of Coast Brewing Boy King Imperial India Pale Ale from SCBeerGuy in a beer trade. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white head that leaves a small amount of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of sticky hop resins, lots of grapefruit, tangerine, pine, and a hint of caramel. The taste is very bitter and hoppy with a large grapefruit presence, tangerine, orange, and lemon. There is some pepper and pine finish, and the after taste leaves a bitter oil on the back of the mouth. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. The aroma leads me to think of Russian River Pliny the Elder, but the taste isn’t quite as smooth and much more bitter. I thoroughly enjoyed it and believe it is very much worth the hype that surrounds the beer.

21st Amendment Hop Crisis Imperial IPA

Since I had to pick up a case of cans to drink on the beach, I went to Westy’s in Camp Hill and came out with a case of 21st Amendment Hop Crisis Imperial IPA. The beer pours a honey color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of resiny fresh hops, tangerine, grapefruit, passion fruit, orange, and pine. The taste is bitter and oily with lots of citrus flavors including orange, tangerine, grapefruit, hints of pepper, and pine. Oak comes out in the finish and a lightly sweet orange flavor lingers in the after taste. The alcohol content is 9.7% ABV. The Hop Crisis was a refreshing beer for the beach with an excellent bitter hop flavor to cut through the extreme heat and plenty of hop oils to aid in making you sweat even more.

Blue Point No Apologies Imperial IPA

My friend Greg brought home a growler of Blue Point No Apologies Imperial IPA from visiting his parents in Long Island and decided to share it with me. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly off-white head. The aroma consists of caramel, pine, lemon, grapefruit, and tangerine. The taste is bitter and biting with lots of tangerine, some grapefruit, lemon accents, and a caramel base. There is some bitter lemon and pine on the finish. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. The No Apologies comes with an excellent bitter flavor, and will be most appreciated by those that love bitter IPAs, myself included.

Alaskan Imperial IPA

I ordered a bottle of Alaskan Imperial IPA, part of the Pilot Series, from Northwest Liquid Gold. The beer pours a caramel color with a lofty and frothy head that leaves a nice lacing behind on the glass. The aroma consists of sticky hop oils, grapefruit, tangerine, caramel, biscuits, pine, and lemon. The taste is sweet at first with a solid caramel backbone before lots of bitter hops attack the tongue. The citrus profile is prevalent here, with tangerine, apricot, orange, grapefruit, and lemon. The finish has some pine, pepper, and spruce dry out the tongue. The after taste leave some biscuit notes on the tongue as well as an oily residue. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I was impressed with the variety of citrus notes in this beer, and the solid caramel backbone that everything is built upon. The oily after taste is reminiscent of Pliny the Elder, but not quite as pronounced or prolonged. If you get a chance to try this beer, I recommend doing so.

Black Diamond Rampage Imperial IPA

I ordered a bottle of Black Diamond Rampage Imperial IPA from Beer on the Wall. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that laces to the glass. The aroma consists of grapefruit, tangerine, orange, lemon, and pine. The taste is bitter but slightly sweet with grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and lemon flavors. The beer dries a little on the finish with fresh pine and spruce hops. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. This was wonderfully done Imperial IPA with all the right citrus flavors and hop balance. It was not overly sweet or bitter, but struck the perfect balance.

Flying Dog Single Hop Imperial IPA (Simcoe)

While at Max's Taphouse in Baltimore, I ordered a glass of Flying Dog Single Hop Imperial IPA (Simcoe). The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit and sugar with pine hints. The taste is big on grapefruit, tangerine, sugar and caramel. There is a gritty hop bite with pine, almost chewable, with a sweet after taste. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. I am a big fan of simcoe hops, and this beer completely delivers. I felt that the gritty and chewable hop bite was very interesting, but still very enjoyable.

Widmer Brothers Deadlift Imperial IPA

I ordered a glass of Widmer Brothers Deadlift Imperial IPA from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma is full of grapefruit and sugar with hints of pine in the background. The taste has lots of grapefruit and is slightly bitter with a nice accent of sugar and some orange hidden in there as well. There is a pine hop finish that dries the mouth somewhat. The alcohol content is 8.6% ABV. Overall, Deadlift tastes like a fresh grapefruit with some sprinkled on top. This Imperial IPA hit every note in a beer that I thoroughly enjoy, making it a top beer for me.

Great Divide 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Imperial IPA

I stopped into Al's of Hampden to pick up a growler of Great Divide 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Imperial IPA. The beer pours an orange amber color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, grapefruit, and sugar. The taste is sweet and smooth with a heavy dose of caramel with some grapefruit. There is a good oak accent that dries out the beer. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. This beer was a very delicious brew with decent hop finish and great oak accent. Overall, I thought it was very well done and I hope to be able to get some more of this before it's gone.

Otter Creek Imperial IPA

When I was at McKenzie Brew House, they had Otter Creek Imperial IPA as a guest beer. The beer pours a copper color with a thin white bubbly head. The aroma is strong with caramel and lemon. The taste is sweet and caramel and a strong alcohol bite. There are some light lemon accents mixed in there as well, but not overpowering. The beer has a slightly dry finish with a light pepper bite. The alcohol content is 11.0% ABV. I was extremely impressed with this beer, especially with the strong caramel presence and the ever-present alcohol bite.

Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

I ordered a glass of Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA from Al's of Hampden. The beer pours a copper color with a thin filmy head. The aroma is filled with grapefruit, orange, mandarin orange, and cherry. The taste is sweet and lemon with heavy accents of grapefruit and a light cherry splash. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. This was an excellent beer with a big alcohol bite and a bitter finish. I enjoyed it and would definitely order another glass of this.

Oskar Blues GUBNA Imperial IPA

I stopped in to TJ's in Paoli after a Philadelphia Union game. The first beer I ordered was Oskar Blues GUBNA Imperial IPA. The beer pours a brilliant amber color with a thin bubbly white head. The beer smells of orange and lemon and is lightly floral. The taste is sweet and smooth with citrus flavors consisting of grapefruit and lemon. The finish has a flowery taste as well that seemed to taste like a rose and then transforms into a pink grapefruit bite. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I thought that the GUBNA was delicious and very intense with the citrus and hop flavors.