Schooners Alpha Avalanche

Brewed by Schooners Grille & Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Antioch, California USA

A very nice double IPA (or Imperial, how ever you prefer). A very warming, full bodied double IPA. Notes of bourbon, hops (of course)and sweetness come thru in the aroma. Very bitter on the palate, but not so much where it’s unbalanced. Very drinkable, very good. Has an oily, resinous part to it. Good stuff from a damn good brewer.

Old rating. Poured a golden slightly orange color. Aroma was wonderful . Citrus and pine. Nice bitterness. Flavor was very nice also.

From tap this beer arrived a amber blonde with a white bubbly foam head. Aroma was heavy with floral hops. This one started with a touch of sweetness and then jumped into an intense floral hoppiness. I wasn’t even aware it was a double IPA. Very smooth with the alcohol. I really liked this one. Definitely have to be in the mood for the hops though.

Bottle sampled on 3/27/07: Transparent deep golden bronze pour with a thin ring of spotty white head. Fresh, grapefruity citrus hoppy aroma has nice underlying pale malty sweetness. Starts with good light malty character and lots of fresh, slightly earthy bittering grapefruity hops toward a well-balanced crisp bittersweet finish.

Poured a lightly hazed amber color with a small off-white head. Nice hop forward aroma with notes of citrus, oranges, and flowers. Sweet fruity malt rides underneath. With some warmth came more fruit and grapefruit. The flavor was full of floral, citrus and piney hops with a malty sweet base. Good warmth in the chest. Medium bodied.

Date: 03/27/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark orange, lasting wispy off white head, streaks of lace, big sweet pine aroma mixed with grapefruit citrus, big sweet tangerine and pine flavor, nice light biterness stays out of the way, caramel malt stays in the background as well and is there to support the hops, nice sticky character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4

(on tap 12/28/2007 - 9.5% ABV) Intense floral nose! Initial impression was citrus (lime peel) and copper. Slight white head left fair lacing. Foggy (like a hefe) w/ light amber hue. HEAVY bitterness w/ sharp hop snap. Light body; finishes very dry w/ little to no malt undertones. Finish is a little harsh w/ hints of anise and pepper. (12/30/2007) I was told my previous tasting was right after filtering and the hop character would change over the subsequent 2-3 days. Second sample definitely showed improvement w/ a definite mellowing of the previously noted harshness. This time I noted cantaloupe, rather than lime peel, in the aroma. The beer was slightly clearer. Body remained light w/ no cloying malt to interfere w/ the hops. Dry finish puts an exclamation point on the hops. Definitely reserved for the IPA lover!

Sampled from bomber, courtesy SoLan. Hazy orange with slight brownish tints. Smells a bit musky, but some real heavy pineapple and pepper aroma are present. Peppery malts, light pineapple, mildly aggressive taste. Well integrated hops here, really like the dark bite to it.