Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Boonville, California USA

This is a beer that I got to admit that I would have loved when I first started drinking IPAs. It is a beefed up version of Hop Ottin. Very bitter, C hops in their glory. Gold color, crisp and translucent. I still love the the citus aroma from this one, like many IPA’s. The palate is totally dominated by the hops - this is a real hop brute. Its probably too bad that they didn’t make this beer four or five years ago, it would have really stood out, now it is one of a dozen or so with a very similar profile. Hops heads will gather around it, most others will realize they had this beer before.

Pours with a foamy, off-white head covering a murky, red dominated, orange body. Good lacing left on the glass. Aroma of grapefruit, tangarine, pine, and a bit of brown sugar. Taste is malt strong, and not much citrus or floral hops in the aroma. A bit of bitterness in the finish. Water like mouthfeel, with some light, playful carbonation.

Bottle from Party Source. Poured a clear copper color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy complex citrus hoppy aroma with a alcohol tone. Medium to heavy body with a slick texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy bitter and small alcohol bite finish of moderate duration. This is a good beer.

Glowing orange amber with a fleeting head. Fairly mild but nice floral and spicy hop aroma. Smooth medium body. Nicely balanced flavors of caramel malt with bittersweet floral and citrusy hops. A nice PNW style Imperial IPA here.

22 oz bottle from BevMo! Really liked this. Pours a copper color with a thick, persistant, light orange head. Faint hoppy aroma. Complex, full flavor with carmel, grapefruit, and hoppy bitterness at the finish. The strong flavors balance well with the alcohol, and has a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Less bitterness as it warms up.

Date: 05/07/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Liquid Solutions

Appearance: cloudy burnt orange, fine dirthy white head, streaks of drippy lace,
Aroma: sweet crystal and pine aroma,
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, lots of crystal sweetness up front, big bitterness kicks in mid way through and takes over, long bitter finish,
Overall: too disjoint between the sweet crystal and the big bitterness, needs more middle hop flavor to tie it together,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

I think every beer I have had for the past couple of weeks has been from a trade. I love you traders. A very sweet malty aroma with a little citrus in there. Pours a cloudy orange. Flavors of sweetness and hops but a muted sort of hop aroma. Mostly malt and sweetness up front and then a finish of a bitter hop finish with some citrus/grapefruit as well. Decent double but look for a lot more hops and a little less sweetness in my favorite doubles.

(22oz. bottle) Pours a lightly hazy orange body with a medium-sized creamy off-white head. Aroma of citrus, peach, light pine, and alcohol. Flavor of hops (citrus, tangerine, light pine) and caramel malt with a bitter finish.