Soonah (900), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Feb 4, 2009 From BMan1113VR via trade. The pour was slightly hazy and light copper in color. A dense white head formed and produced sticky rings of lacing. The aroma was a nice blast of grapefruit hops with pine, pineapple and then softer caramel malts. The flavor was a well balanced combination of citrus and pine hops against a nice caramel malt backbone. Medium bodied mouthfeel, succinct finish. Very nice. nickd717 (1276), Palo Alto, California, USA Feb 3, 2009 I love imperial IPAs and Hair of the Dog (both the brewery and the act of drinking to cure a hangover), but this fell just a little short in a couple ways. It pours a cloudy golden color with an off-white head, very opaque. Aroma is basically all West coast hops, but not quite as strong as some of the SoCal offerings (Stone, Green Flash, etc). The hop combo is good but not great and it lacks a little bit of the balancing malty sweetness that great beers in this style usually have. Nice smooth palate though. Substantial sediment remains after. NobleSquirrel (1100), Chicago, Illinois, USA Jan 26, 2009 Fall 2008 Bomber via trade with stefanje. Pours a light amber with white frothy head. Nose is slightly yeasty/spicy (probably the rye), grapefruit and pine and light doughy sweet notes. Taste has distinct rye beer qualities of a slippery body that feels a touch thin, nice spiciness that almost overshadows the hops. Clean and crisp bitterness. As far as IIPAs go, this isn’t top tier, but throw in the rye aspect and you get a very interesting beer. Pretty cool beer and definitely glad I got to try it. Nice. DuffMan (2719), the land of bitumen, beef & beer, Alberta, Canada Jan 19, 2009 Cloudy dirty yellow, thick rocky head of eternal retention that leaves thick creamy lace. Sweet biscuity malt and perfumey fruity hops (passionfruit and lychee come to mind). Creamy, heavy, malty, with abundant deliciously fruity hops. If there is cascade in here, it takes a backseat to some other varieties for a change. Beautifully done. illidurit (851), Santa Cruz, California, USA Jan 16, 2009 Hazy orange goldenrod color with a healthy beige head. Nice lacing. Aroma is heavy on the fresh pineapple, with some notes of stone fruits and pale malt. Flavor is oily hops, grapefruit, underripe pineapple, pine. Can’t really tell there’s rye in it. Slight astringency, nothing major. Good long bitterness. Very drinkable. trokini (1027), San Diego, California, USA Jan 12, 2009 Bomber at O’Briens. Poured hazy/oily orange-gold with a frothy and creamy white head. Good lacing. Soapy pine aroma, fresh-cut lemongrass, and the smell of wet wood. Passionfruit and mango in terms of hoppiness in the nose. Bitter, sharp hop bite in the taste. Lots of melon and mango with a pepper snap. Soapy up front with the resin, with the flavor of earthy and wet hops. More malt and sweetness as the beer progressed. Easily drinkable with a hearty mouthfeel. Far different from most West Coast IIPA’s, more bitterness reminiscent of an English IPA, but mixed well with the citrus hops.
carl4beer (394), Fairfax Station, Virginia, USA Jan 11, 2009 22 oz. pours golden with HUGE head. aroma is light pineapple and sweet. mouthful is very fizzy with some big bitter hops attacking the pallet. very in your face but smth is not great about it. HonkeyBra (1269), Lemont, Illinois, USA Jan 10, 2009 Crushed with CaryTheDude and JakeBra. Aroma is like the best citrus ever. Flavor has a lot of citrus combined perfectly with a lot of carbonation. The mouthfeel might have been a tad thin, but awesome nonetheless because of the cool carbonation.
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