Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale

Brewed by Beer Valley Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Ontario, Oregon USA

Tasted from bottle at RBSG. Cool name. Cloudy yellow color. Not so hoppy. Medium bitterness. Leans sweet.

A brisk pour produces a four finger-thick, light tan colored head that just crests the top of my 25cl tulip glass without overflowing. The beer is a clear, red-tinged, amber color that shows an almost brilliantly clear, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma is suitably hop focused with notes of pine needles, a green herbal note and sharp citrus notes of grapefruit and sour orange zest. Really the aroma is quite herbal in focus (including ample pine notes). The aroma finishes with a significant, though clearly supporting, biscuit and cracker like maltiness. Not the most hop complex nose, but certainly serviceable for a hop lover.

Creamy textured up front, but then a fizzy carbonation kicks in and ruins this a bit. Amply bitter from the get go with a strong, green, herbal hoppiness that just lingers on the palate long after the sip has left my mouth. A sharp, grapefruit hoppiness lies just behind the dominant pine and bitter notes, but this seems to be the most notable part of the citrus hop component. The hops in the finish get a little astringent especially when coupled with some hot alcohol flavors. A chewy malt character kicks in towards the middle of each sip accenting a solid biscuit character. This has a chewy body, enough to help support the hop character, but not so much that it is overly in the Barleywine category. As the beer warms up it softens up a bit and becomes more drinkable as it loses some of the harsh hop notes; though it starts to pick up a lacquered hop, almost phenolic, curing plastic note as well.

Definitely an aggressively hoppy brew. It doesn’t have the hop balance that I like to see in a double IPA though; I prefer an ample hop fruit character that is tempered by the herbal & pine notes, while this one is opposite to that. Allowing this to substantially warm up from the 52°F / 11°C starting temperature really goes a long way to improving this beer though (despite that phenolic / lacquer note that is a bit nagging in the finish).

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Got this at Market of Choice in Ashland , Oregon for $4.49. From a 22 oz bottle this poured a cloudy orange color with two inches of of-white head that lasted for quite a long time. Nose of citrus and pine hops, with caramel malts. Rich mouthfeel. Flavor is nicely bitter.with hints of fruit. Finish is average and nicely bitter. I thought this tasted just like a DIPA, despite the name, so when I found this described as an Imperial.Double IPA I felt relieved. A nice brew, but then DIPA is my favorite type.

Bomber from BevMo, La Mesa. Hazy amber/orange color upon pouring. Nice hop aroma. Some citrus and pine. Spicy hop quality. Some sweet citrus. Dry peppery hops seem to dominate. Pretty smooth.

bottle, orange color with no head to speak of, flat tasting green flavors, a bitter lacking finish

22oz bottle. Light orange color with a very large rocky white head. Spicy pine and ruddy earthen hops in the aroma. Biscuit and caramel malt flavors underneath an herbaceous floral hop character. Pine and some citrus manifest. Ruddy malt dominates the finish, with some vegetal bitterness. Mouthfeel is a heavy medium, somewhat dry.

Bottle from PC Market of Choice in Ashland, OR. Poured a hazy golden color with a good sized-head. Lots of hops, both citrus and pine, but a little too rough on the palate for my taste. Not bad, but there are much better DIPA’s out there

Pours a hazy dark golden color with a nice fluffy soapy head. Aroma of hops, malt and citrus. Flavor is lots of hops, with quite a bit of malt to back it up, piney resin and citrus. Finishes very bitter. Decent double IPA.