Livery Double Paw Imperial IPA

Brewed by The Livery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Benton Harbor, Michigan USA

Weighing it at 9% ABV on my visit to the brewpub, this DIPA packs a whollop both with the hops and with the alcohol. It pours a hazy gold body, mayhaps with a touch of amber, and a modest head. The aroma has at its base some sweet grainy malts and a splash of caramel. This is then buried beneath hop scents of pine, grapefruit, and tangerine. The flavor starts light and sweet with grainy malt, then gets buried by an avalanche of solid hop bitterness. The finish is prolonged and biting, a tasty unbalanced drink.

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On tap at the brewery. Light yellow with white head. Pine/citrus hop aroma with strong caramel malt. Bubblegum, orange hop with nice malt, great. Medium to full body with medium carb, light creaminess. Powerful hop centered IIPA.

MBGF07. Hazy pale body with a tiny white head. The aroma is big and hoppy with citrus-grapefruit and tangerine, lightly catty, pine and light sweetness. Flavor is fairly dry with just a touch of cotton candy, grapefruit, peach and orange peels. Medium body is soft with moderate carbonation and a dry, bitter end.

Date: 06/21/2007
Mode: Growler
Source: Tasting, Pre-RBSG

hazy orange, frothy beige head, streaks of lace, big sweet tangerine aroma, lots of fruity tangerine flavor, bitterness starts of low and grows into a long finish,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

On tap: Big fresh piney aroma aroma with moderate grapefruit. It’s a cloudy golden-orange with a small off-white head. The flavor starts wtih a a quicky mango fruity sweetness which quickly fades to a big grapefruit hoppiness with some light pine. Long lasting grapefruit aftertaste.

Draft sample at MBGF07. Poured hazy copper color with an average frothy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Heavy sour citrus hop aroma. Medium body with soft carbonation. Heavy smooth balanced grapefruit flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration.This is a standout beer.

Dark golden color with a moderate off-white head. Earthy floor malt, whole grain bread, and full fresh rolled hops scents. Mild mellow malt under a sea of pine and citrus. Not over the top, but rather balanced as far as IIPAs go.

Growler at pre-RBSG tasting

Thanks to BBB63 for bringing this to the tasting. It got opened fairly early in the evening which was good because I was able to enjoy it more fully as a result. This is a solidly made imperial IPA that deserves more attention. While it is not quite as much of a hop bomb as most West Coast releases it holds its own quite admirably.

Aroma / Appearance - Grapefruit, pine and citrus merge seamlessly to greet the nostrils without being overwhelming. Behind them are canned peaches, cherry soda (Cherrywine I think it is called) and a very strong overall hop profile. The body is a nice cloudy orange with a half finger head decorating the top.

Flavor / Palate - The chewy mouthfeel contains a rich array of flavors. Opening with pineapple, it then morphs into grapefruit, pears and lemons. Without being intense it makes its presence known before the dry finish begins to fill the mouth with bitterness. There is even a trace of sourness which I did not expect at all.