 LiebeBier (745), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Mar 1, 2008
Bottle - I was surprised I have not rated this beer. Pours an amber color with a nice head and incredible clarity. Intense pine cone aroma. This beer has a perfect balance of hop bitterness and rich malty flavor. An excellent balance of the two differing styles of IPA - too hoppy or too malty. This is the perfect balance. I expect to pucker up on the finish, but that doesn’t happen. It’s a nice clean finish that leaves you craving more.
bbrock81 (193), Le Mars, Iowa, USA
Oct 11, 2008 Bottle, pours slightly orange, vaguely cloudy, with a small, white head. Aroma is all hops, bright, citrusy, piney. Flavor is pine and citrus hops again up front, followed by a balancing maltiness, and finsihes with a long, acidic tang. Moderately carbonated. Very, very good.
Alraomon (63), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Sep 27, 2008 A nice brilliant golden amber, sporting a great off-white sticky marshmallow head.
A pretty huge hop profile here... a very clean pine/grapefruit melding with a sweet malt. When first smelling it, the first thought was "This is what car fresheners or Pinesol SHOULD smell like" ;)
Like the smell, the hops carry over here, in a very good way. A very pine/spruce taste with a bit of a sweet, malty balance towards the back of the tongue, followed by a bittering finish. Truly spectacular.
A full body, a moderate carbonation - not overly so, but just about right to balance the rather big flavour.
A well-done ’imperialization,’ I was quite shocked with how well this all went over. This one seems to be worthy of the hype, and I’d go for it again.
durhambeer (535), Durham, USA
Sep 25, 2008 Hazy orange pour with one-finger off-white head. Tasted after Pliny the Elder, so I had to adjust... admittedly this smelled like wet dog to me at first. But I kept at it and the beer rewarded: pine, citrus, almost a spicy apricot, and a very solid malt backbone. Nicely spicy bitter finish. This bottle was about 8 months old, so I’m sure it’s past its prime, but I can tell this is a good beer.
D_malone102 (95), Denver, Colorado, USA
Sep 25, 2008 I actually got a hold of this beer while in Cape May, NJ while on vacation. I got it in August, when everyone I talked to said that it was too old. They are wrong. I understand that the hop profile will not be nearly as fresh as it is in the spring, but a beer that heavily hopped and that alcoholic should last quite a while, definately longer than 5 months. The malt character is also very complex, and in fact, this is a very balanced beer. Did I taste cinnamon?
daknole (856), Plantation, Florida, USA
Sep 23, 2008 Bottle from bigmilly8. Wow I love this beer and want more. Pours a beautiful orange/amber color with a good medium head. Wonderful aroma of pine, caramel, citrus, and malt. Flavor is really amazing. Hops hit you followed by a great malt backbone and then you get some more hops at the end. Complex, well balanced and I need more more more.
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