Valley Brew Uberhoppy Imperial IPA

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Stockton, California USA

22 oz bottle via wavers (big thanks!). Pours a hazy copper with a nice compact off white head. Nose is a menagerie of hop aromas. What hop aroma do i NOT smell? Hmm maybe chesse. Everything else is there in abundance. MMMMMMMMMMM i am frakkin speechless after the first sip. THis is tasty..lots of bittering hops yet tons of flavoring hops to give it balance. Screw the malts, they are then just for something to hop onto, as they should be. Hops are center stage here and are blanced between bittering and flavoring, about as perfect as you can get. THis is what ruination could be if it had more flavoring/aroma to balance out the bitterness. This is what hoppy should be. Body is a nice medium/full, finish is semi-dry. I taste apricot, pineapple, orange, pine, grapefruit, cantelop, honey, toffee, mandarin orange, perfume, pine, and the orange peal, grapefruit, pine lingers for a few minutes into the glorious aftertaste....heaven in a bottle.

Bomber awesomely bonused from wavers1, thanks man! Pours dark amber with a tallish, chunky beige head that has good retention. Aroma is mostly really well rounded citrus, there’s some sweet floral notes, a hint of pine, toffee, biscuit and melon. Flavor is honeysuckle and sweet melon then BOOM the hops hit huge amounts of citrus and herbal-planty hops, theres a nice, light caramel, toffee, biscuit backbone throughout and some perky melon, pitted fruit and berry notes that come through near the finish, but are quickly blasted by a resurgence of hops. The finish is naval orange, bitter grapefruit, and some resinous hops make an appearance to punch you in the face (in a good way) there is a delectable orange, strawberry blossom and caramel covered bread pudding fade that is fantastic for an IIPA. Palate is medium bodied with a creamy, neutral entry tapering to a still creamy, though a little chalky and slightly drying finish, beautiful. Fantastic stuff, thanks again Baker.

Dark amber orange pour with an off white head. Incredible inky, floral and citrus aroma. Other fruits come out as it settles. Peaches, pineapple, mango, melons. The taste has melons, florals with a very inky, bitter finish. Surprisingly light bodied. This is straight hop juice. Very fresh tasting. Excellent beer, especially for the hop lover but I prefer their IPA. Not as overpowering.

pours a medium golden color with a nice white head that fades quickly. this is a nice hop showcase beer. the smell is pure crisp hops with a nice funk tinge. the taste is very refreshing and light with a nice clean hop presence. not too dry, great for a 100+ degree day. the palate is just right, super smooth with some creamyness up front. the alcohol is very, i mean very well hidden, tastes like an 8-9 %’er. excellent beer, and a completely incredible price point.

Bottle from Ledger’s in Berkeley. Finally got my hands on this stuff, which is brewed so close, yet so far. Bright amber color with a creamy off-white head. Awesome floral and citrusy hop aroma + sweet malt. Those little phytoestrogen containing devils will definitely drain me of my virility by age 40, but I still love ’em! Flavor sweet pale and caramel malts and lots of...wait for it...hops (never saw that coming, did you?). Citrusy, resinous, and floral HOPS. The name and label do not deceive. Palate medium-full with hoppy oiliness and lingering bitterness. Great DIPA. I’m glad it’s finally available in my area.

Tap at Sacramento Brewing. Pours darkish copper with a near-creamy beige head. Decently strong resin aroma for hop. But there seems to be hints of citrus and floral. Approaching full body with creamy carbonation. Flavor is underlying mild roast caramel but there is a lot of resin, floral and citrus? hop. It’s incredibly hoppy. Finishes quite bitter, but not harshly so. It must be chock full of anti-oxidants.

The purity of the aroma is impressive--so hoppy! Orange flavor. Rich amber with varying bubble size. Classic smell, I love it, though I can be as excited about the rest of it. Tap at RBSG 2009 grand tasting.

On tap at Sacramento Brewing. This orange beer poured with a decent beige head and a pine aroma. This beer contains massive amounts of malt, and especially hops. There is a very nice caramel malt base with a wall of hop bitterness that is hard to climb, but worth the effort. Hopheads rejoice.