Kuhnhenn American Extreme IPA

Brewed by Kuhnhenn Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Warren, Michigan USA

12oz bottle courtesy of ryan. Opaque amber-gold with a big off-white head. Great hop aroma of candied grapefruit, bitter grapefruit, and pine sap. Sweet candied grapefruit, green hop matter and melon rind in the flavor. Finishes with a medium bitterness and lingering leafy quality like hop puree made it into the bottle. Medium, almost substantial in body. Just a really green, oily hop character. It’s different, but that aroma was great.

12oz Bottle. December 2008. Dense barleywine and hops nose. It carries that particular perfume of high alcohol, high malt, and high alpha hops I associated with caramel-forward barleywines backed with tense hops. It glows of sticky, resin-filled centennial, cascade, and columbus. Slightly warm. Pours a thick, hazy red-orange, amber-tined, with a long, soapy fresh lace. It’s hard to feel this as an IPA. Oh god. What a mess. The flavor starts with hot, hot hop alcohol, as though the hops have been steeped in vodka, then a flavor train-wreck occurs. That malt vinegar sugar background familiar to other Kuhnehenn efforts winks at it’s beginnings. How is this at all IPA-like? Ugh. Hot, brash, and estery. Then shallow, dusty-bitter hops. Okay, so we’ve got a lot of alcohol, malt turning to vinegar, and some one-dimensional hop bitterness that tastes old. This is ugly. Thanks for the opportunity Sean.

(12oz bottle, thanks ryan) Small off-white head atop lightly hazed amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, pineapple/grapefruit caramel. Taste is moderately sweet, hop oil. Hop burp far better than the flavor itself. Medium-full body

12oz bottle courtesy of hoppymeal poured into a snifter. Pours a cloudy amber that shows bright orange when held up to light. The creamy white head is not extremely big but shows great retention and leaves a surprising amount of lacing. The aroma was evident when I cracked the bottle and waves of grapefruit hit the nose. Lots of sweet bready malts in there along with a hint of the alcohol. It’s really the citrus that dominates though. The taste really caught me off guard with the massive, massive bitterness of the hops. There is a hint of malty sweetness in there somewhere, but the hops are nearly out of control in this one. The alcohol burn in the finish is more than noticeable and lasts for quite a while. The mouthfeel is really thick and almost syrupy with a stinging bitterness that last throughout with a decent carbonation. This one certainly earns the extreme moniker as it is one of the most aggressively hopped beers I have ever tasted. It’s very good but the drinkability is slightly limited for me.

Thanks to sliffy for sharing a bottle. The beer is a lightly hazed dark orange color with a medium foamy off-white head that dissipates steadily. Rings of lacing on the glass. Has a strong fruity hops aroma with caramel malt undertones. Medium body with a floral hoppy character that has a strong malt foundation. Citrus is pronounced throughout as well. The finish is rich and hoppy with a lingering citrusy bitterness. Overall this beer reminded me of something between a Barley Wine and DFH 120 Minute. Very good overall.

12oz bottle. Cloudy amber color with a medium white head. Unforgiving aroma of nothing but citrus and hop. Tons of hop flavor with an ever so slight touch of malt sweetness. First beer I have ever tried from these folks. Time for a road trip.

On tap at the Kuhnhenn Brew Pub. Poured a medium and cloudy amber color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of floral green hops, some skunky weed, citrus, and some caramel. Tastes of citrus, toasted caramel, and lighter floralness. Some spicy ending. Sweet begging with a lighter bitter finish. Light alcohol in the finish.

Not as sensuous as Bells Hopslam or Three Floyds Dreadnaught, but it is full-throttle and intense. A bloom of citrus--comes off like a pomelo kind of bitter/tart character, rather than grapefruit. A fine expression of double IPA, but could use a bit of extra maltiness to elongate the aroma and finish. Fine beer.