Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA

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

Bottle from 5 points. Just your average, run of the mill iipa. Not outstanding, but also not bad. A little sweet.

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 04/13/2009. Clear copper amber body with a medium frothy off-white head. Sweet floral and resiny hop aroma. Sweet floral and resiny hop flavor with a touch of vanilla and a light caramel background. Medium full body with moderate carbonation and a somewhat sticky finish.

22oz bottle 4/12/09 (BevMo-Torrance)-Pours a clear amber with a small off white head. Aroma of floral and citrusy hops along with some malt. Taste begins with citrusy hops and then some floral comes in that get followed by some malt. This medium bodied brew is Ok for its style and for the brewery. Would of liked a bit more sustenance.

Bottled at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Clear deep amber, rich creamy head. Perfumy gooseberry aroma Sweet and full bodied with some caramel and syrup. Heavy swety orangey hops leads to a massive biterness. Warming alcohol is evident throughout.

My Bottom Line:
A veritable hop cornucopia is found within this generous Double IPA, sending waves of citrusy, resinous, floral and sandy flavors onto supporting biscuity malts. This does not stand out in its style family, but it does everything well and is a most suitable hop fix.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam skirts the misty golden amber.
-The flavor profile is strangely more talkative than the aroma.
-There is a little caramel sweetness throughout that helps to balance out the hop dosage.
-The resinous hop bitterness is firm and pleasant.
-The mouthfeel is very healthy, and the carbonation smooth, making for effortless yet nutritious drinking.

Bottle.

Copper colored beer. Burnt malt finish on this beer. I can tell its good, but it just doesn’t seem to come together. Perhaps it needs to age like a wine.

22 oz. bottle from Plaza Liquors - Pours a clear copper color with a one finger thick light tan head. Lively carbonation. Light lacing. Has a spicy, floral hop aroma. Flavor is citrus and pine hops. Medium body. Bitterness lingers a bit. A decent IPA

Bottle. Muddled mess. Pour leaves one entirely un-excited; crystal clear, clean burnished copper color, small off-white head that quickly clears to a thin layer of foam. Aroma immediately smacks of pine tar and sweet caramel, though both on the muted side. Flavor is entirely all over the place. Very un-aggressive bitterness for a DIPA, but the booze heat sure shows up immediately. Hop flavor is present, but muddled and confused- notes of pine, resins, minty earthy notes, and some typical C-hop lemon citrus. All over the place, but not assertive or interesting. Caramel sweetness from the nose clams down in the flavor, but likely due to being "balanced" out by the booze and sweetness. Palate non-impressive or offensive- on the thick and stick side, as one would expect. Not an impressive DIPA, and certainly would have expected more from Anderson Valley.