Highland Imperial Kashmir India Pale Ale

Formerly brewed at Highland Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Asheville, North Carolina USA

I paid $10 for this bomber, it better be good. The beer is a hazy dark tan color, smallish head. The aroma is detectable from accross the room. It has a fruitier aroma, more like apricot or mango as opposed to the citrus you expect. Very pleasant though, top marks on aroma. The taste is fantastic as well. Very bitter and hoppy, but balanced enough. Has that elusive almost shockingly hoppy quality I love in a big DIPA. This is one of the best beers I’ve every had, I’m definately enjoying this one. I’d say its way underrated, definately blows away the 90 minute and many other rated higher.

1/06/2008: Highland Imperial Kashmir India Pale Ale has a hazy, deep apricot color. The fine carbonation bubbles have a slow trip up through the thick liquid. The frothy ivory head is small, but dense and lasting. A sugary, sweet toffee maltiness blends with a sweet, juicy orange citrus hoppiness in the huge aroma. Wow! The flavor is quite intense. The hop flavor is mostly orange and grapefruit with enough peel to add a twist and some complexity. There are even some apricot notes in the finish. There is a substantial toffee and caramel maltiness underneath all of the hops thats add some sugary sweetness to balance this monster out and prevent it from becoming a hop bomb. No alcohol present in the flavor at all. This is a full-bodied beer that is quite thick and fairly sticky on the palate. However, the body really does complement the large flavor of this beer. This is a great Imperial IPA. Sure, it might not be quite as good as some of the very top IIPAs, but it does a really good job of trying to come close!

22 fl. oz. bottle (Alc. 10.2% by Volume) from ross. Thank you for picking this up for me. I really appreciate it, Ross! Rating #75 for this beer...

Bottle: Deep caramel, large foamy off-white head, sticky lacing.   Looks great!   Caramel malts, slight hop, sweet citrus peel on the nose.   Smells very familiar... oddly similar to Dicks Bottleworks IPA.   Oh man, quite thick and viscous on the tongue, but not cloying.   Getting a good malt base, seems to be caramel malts, along with sweetened citrus peel, tobacco leaves, and a slight floral hop presense.   Yeah, this one really brings me back to a Dicks Bottleworks IPA I had about two months ago.   I love this style of IIPA, good and thick, not overly bitter, with a good sweetness to counteract the bitterness.   In my opinion, totally balanced.   I spoze its almost nearing Barleywine territory with its maltiness.   Body and mouthfeel are, you guessed it, fairly full.   Clean, flavorful, and well balanced.   Glad that Tom, OldGrowth, sent me a few of these.   Thanks Tom, this is good stuff!   Oh, and the 10.2% ABV isn’t really noticeable.   It packs a punch, but is neither very hot or alcholic.   A sleeper IIPA for sure.   Beats the piss out of most of the hop dominated IIPAs that are out there.   Long live the malt!!!

Deep copper pour with just a slight haze and lite white head. Aroma citrusy but not really a knockout hop aroma. Rich sweet front end that flows to a good solid bitter. It almost reminds of of oranges in a flavor that changes a number of times throughout the drink. Mouthfeel is solid and full. Carbonation is very good as well. A beer I like alot. I wish it were more readily available.

bottle, from Sam’s Quik Stop. Good aroma, citrusy sweet. Grapefruit, some pine, a toasted grain, peppery. Clean brownish orange color, good head that faded quickly, minor to no lacing. Bittersweet flavor, lots of graprfruit, pinneapple, little peach/apricot. Thick body, creamy oily mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. It’s good, had some moments while sniffing that were great, but didn’t quite come together with the flavor I had hoped for. Got a little better as it warmed.

22oz bottle acquired in trade with DragonStout (thanks!). Poured a deeper and muddy amberish color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of earthiness, pine, tropical fruits, and spicey. Tastes of pine, spices, caramel, and citrus.

Pours a vibrant orange-amber color. Aroma is pine, nectarine, and melon. Taste is rather bitter, some citrus comes through, and I also detect a floral or spicy taste.

Thanks for the trade Ross. Pours a deep amber color with thin white head. Aroma is light grapefruit, malt, some resin and some earthiness. Taste is citrus hops, malt, vegetal and dirt. Alcohol is well hidden but that’s is it’s only redeeming quality. It seems like someone dropped some potting soil in a mediocre DIPA.