McNeills Warlord Imperial IPA

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

22 oz bomber from beertruth. Pours a hazy copper with a small off white foamy head. Flavor of pinapple, toffee and caramel. Medium to full bodied with strong carbonation. Grainy flavor with not as much hops coming through as I would have liked. The bottle did look llike it was about a decade old so I guess the hops held up rather well.

Objectively speaking: Straightforward, big IPA with less bitterness than you’d expect from Mcneills.
I like: Classic looks. Floral. White grapefruit. Hop complexity. Balance between pale bready malts and crystals. Expanding carbonation. Big bubbles. Diplomatic on the bittering hops for a Mcneills. High drinkability.
I dislike: Not very original/memorable.

bottle, from trade with 46er3498. Good aroma, Sweet. Fruity. Peach, apricot, orange, grapefruit, Vanilla soap. pine, evergreen. Hazed brownish orange color, small to no head, minor lacing. Bitter sweet flavor. Has a harsh streak. Like aroma but citrus is more pronounced, little soapy, Caramel too. Thicker body, oily viscous mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. Good brew, like to know what it’s like on tap in Brattleboro, Really nice how the malt side stands up. The aroma had a great range from beginning to end. Maybe I poured it too slow to get a good head.

In short: A dirty tasty IIPA. Well malted and resinous.
How: Bottle 22oz, drank the day after purchase (therefore most likely very fresh)
The look: Muddy dark orange topped by a medium beige head
In long: Strong citrusy and caramel nose. Malt profile has an interesting blend of crème caramel, pecans and pie crust. Hop profile is very resinous citrusy hops. This is a tasty filling rich beer. My description doesn’t quite highlight how “dirty” this beer was. Yet another dirty beer from McNeil’s, these guys really aren’t into clean crisp beer, but in this case it really works well. I’m surprised at how much I really enjoyed that beer. Maybe it was the scenery, I don’t know, but I really enjoyed sipping this beer by a campfire with my better half, the gentle side of my split personality.

Bottle from 46er3498. Dirty dark orange color.Huge frothy head. Malty earthy hop aroma and flavor. Floral bitter semi sweet finish. Not bad.

My Bottom Line:
Grapefruity, floral, spicy hoppiness thrives atop minutious honeyed maltiness, leading to a leafy, wooden hop bitterness. This is not a Double IPA which will destroy through tastebuds, but rather one which commands you to drink more of it. What a novel concept.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A slice of foam tops the hazy peach golden.
-The body is slick and healthy, leading to effortless drinking.
-The crunchy pale maltiness does not quite balance out the hoppiness, but that’s not the purpose of this style anyway.
-Alcohol is not apparent in the flavor profile.
-This is well levelled and not agressive at all; pure, drinkable hop glory.
-The bottle was almost as tasty and fresh as the tap version.

On tap at the brewpub and from the bottle.

Bomber - Poured a quite cloudy dark orange-amber in color with a very small white head. Low carbonation, but still some lacing on the glass. Aroma is thick with citrus-grapefruit hop perfume with some flower hopiness mixed in. Flavor is a fairly well balanced mix of citrus and pine hops with just a hint of malty sweetness. Medium bitter with an extended finish. Alcohol is well hidden. Not among the best IIPAs that I have had, but good enough to drink again (and repeat).

Poured a lightly hazed amber color with an off-white head Mild to moderate amount of hops make up the aroma. Sweet malt underneath with some mild plastic phenolic notes as well Alcohol starts to come out as the beer warmed. The bitterness in the flavor started from the beginning through the very long finish. Moderate to high bitterness. Semi-dry finish.