Monday, July 18, 2011

Alaskan Imperial IPA

I ordered a bottle of Alaskan Imperial IPA, part of the Pilot Series, from Northwest Liquid Gold. The beer pours a caramel color with a lofty and frothy head that leaves a nice lacing behind on the glass. The aroma consists of sticky hop oils, grapefruit, tangerine, caramel, biscuits, pine, and lemon. The taste is sweet at first with a solid caramel backbone before lots of bitter hops attack the tongue. The citrus profile is prevalent here, with tangerine, apricot, orange, grapefruit, and lemon. The finish has some pine, pepper, and spruce dry out the tongue. The after taste leave some biscuit notes on the tongue as well as an oily residue. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I was impressed with the variety of citrus notes in this beer, and the solid caramel backbone that everything is built upon. The oily after taste is reminiscent of Pliny the Elder, but not quite as pronounced or prolonged. If you get a chance to try this beer, I recommend doing so.

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