Obliteration V
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

Obliteration VObliteration V
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From:
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
 
Alaska, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
8.2%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.08 | pDev: 8.33%
Reviews:
39
Ratings:
45
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 03, 2014
Added:
Jul 31, 2009
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  0
95 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.75 by zestar from California

Jun 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by bespin15 from Washington

Jul 02, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 29, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by twelveinches from Washington

Dec 01, 2011
 
Rated: 4.25 by imperialking from Illinois

Nov 19, 2011
 
Rated: 3.75 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Nov 15, 2011
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
orange amber with a thick frothy head that is slow to sink. Lacing lasted pretty much to the end, very nice looking indeed! Smell was hops, and cirus, very fruity smell and very pleasant. Seems to have gotten better as time went on. Now for the taste....Wow...Very nice, smooth going down and just pops. Citrus and a tiny bit of alcohol in there.End with a fantastic piney taste. Just great great beer
Oct 02, 2011
Photo of tmoneyba
Reviewed by tmoneyba from Ohio

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured hazy copper color with a large frothy light brown head that was lasting with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy sour citrus hop and sweet malt aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration. Complex standout brew that met my expectations.
Jul 15, 2011
Photo of BeardedRiker
Reviewed by BeardedRiker from Texas

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Oh Midnight Sun Brewing Co...how you absolutely WORSHIP hops! HA! Not that that's a bad thing.

Pouring out this brew provided a frothy white-tan head that smelled strongly of hops, citrus and sugary sweetness.

Although the hops are very much the showcase of the Obliteration V it contains a wide range of flavors, making the beer well balanced and enjoyable to the last drop. It has hoppy bitterness but it is a bit sweet. There is a hint of citrus that adds some tang to it as well. In the finish there is a strong flavor of pine. It adds a sort of earthy and a bit spicy taste that ends the beer very well. We Amerikaners worship the flower and its bitterness as well. Your Obliteration V is just what we want: a flavorful and mightily hoppy pale ale. Make that a DOUBLE pale ale! At 95 IBU's this beast of an IPA isn't for the feint of heart but I found it to be surprisingly tame in its hoppy bitterness. Not that it isn't hoppy, but the bitterness is very much balanced by the rest of the beer.

Go buy this one!
Feb 25, 2011
Photo of GradyS1
Reviewed by GradyS1 from California

3.95/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A- golden amber, orange color, minimal head with a nice persistent lacing.
S- there is a lot of tropical fruit on this. Pineapple mango and other citrus notes. Earthy sweetness and malts to the finish
T- sweet citrus, orange and grapefruit with a nice malt to the backend. Interesting floral taste appears as well, sweet malts in the finish, starbursts
M-medium bodied with a light amount of carbonation

This was my favorite of the 4 bottle vertical on 2/3/11. Nice tropical fruit smell and taste to this
Feb 17, 2011
Photo of LilBeerDoctor
Reviewed by LilBeerDoctor from New York

3.53/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Reviewed on 1/29/2010. Bottle thanks to scrizzz. Pours a slightly hazy orange brown with a small white head. Aroma of acetone, citrus, lots of fruit. Flavor is a bit strange - sweet at first with an oddly bitter, pumpernickel and garlic flavor, toffee, and caramel malt. An odd IIPA but it was drinkable and decent.
Dec 23, 2010
Photo of Deuane
Reviewed by Deuane from Pennsylvania

3.92/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
A-Bright and brilliant, golden kissed copper with a thin off-white head that held on and left spotty lace.

S-Spicy tangerine and fresh picked herbs overriding a rather hefty wave of caramel malt sweetness.

T-Quite spicy up front with underlying noted of tangerine and Clementine. After this a wave of malty sweetness kicks in to finish things off. Certainly tasty and flavourful but it doesn't quite work for me.

M-Medium bodied and VERY sharp! Long lingering spicy bitterness that even produced hop burps!

D-Decent for sure and it seems to get better and better but then too much spice kicks in. This is certainly not my favorite of the Midnight Sun beers I have had,
Nov 15, 2010
Photo of Thorpe429
Reviewed by Thorpe429 from Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Reviewed from notes.

Poured into a tulip. The color is a bright orange with a nice white head and a good deal of lacing. The nose brings some citrus, pine, and a bit of tropical hops. No much of any malt in the background. Alaska is technically on the West Coast, after all, right? Emphatic yes comes from the flavor, which dominates my palate with strong citrus hops. Some pine in the background. Really nice bitter feel. Strong drinkability. Is there anything MS can't do?
Nov 14, 2010
Photo of jdense
Reviewed by jdense from Oregon

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
22 oz bottle purchased by a buddy at local bottle shop, poured into Chimay chalice 4.17.10.

One finger rocky white head, quick dissipation with minimal lacing. Orangish amber clear body with some visible carbonation. Nose is citrusy hops balanced with a good dose of crystal malts, throwing some cherry-like esters. Same flavor profile as the nose, not an overly bitter DIPA, pretty well balanced. Minimal effervescence and medium bodied mouthfeel, not sticky. The ABV is fairly noticeable which inhibits drinkability. Not my favorite Midnight Sun offering, but quite tasty nonetheless.
Apr 17, 2010
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.38/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Electric apricot when the glass is held up to the blazing light of the morning sun. The beer has an unfiltered murkiness that looks fantastic... and this is only the first pour. The top third of the glass is filled with khaki colored foam that is milkshake thick and creamy. Extensive sticky lace puts the cherry on top of this outstanding looking DIPA.

The nose could be brighter and more pungent, but it's still a wonderful sniffer. Nugget and Warrior hops contribute orange zest, grapefruit zest and a hint of pine. Malt stays pretty much out of the way, with the exception of a faint contribution from crystal.

Time and hundreds of beers in the interim make comparing these Obliteration ales difficult at best. That said, Midnight Sun doesn't seem to change things too up much from release to release. That's okay, they're all solid brews that deliver where it matters most: flavor and bitterness.

Obliteration V is right in my DIPA wheelhouse. It's primarily pale malted, the American hop flavor is front and center, and the alcohol is essentially absent on the palate. Who knew that Nugget and/or Warrior were this orange peel-like? I would have guessed Amarillo if blinded.

Specifics include sugar cookies, candied orange peel, pink grapefruit peel and a big splash of triple sec. Sure, it's relatively simple, but that doesn't mean it isn't delicious if you like hop-laced big beer. And who in their right mind doesn't?

The mouthfeel is classic for the DIPA style. It has the heft, the silky smooth creaminess and the perfect carbonation that is required for maximum enjoyment. No chinks in the armor here.

Obliteration V is at least as good as Obliteration III, which is my previous favorite. It's too bad that Liquid Solutions went out of business because this might be my last beer in this wonderfully hop-soaked series. If you have it... drink it!
Feb 22, 2010
Photo of akorsak
Reviewed by akorsak from Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A 650 mL bottle from Liquid Solutions.

A: The DIPA, my first ale in over a week, is a copper color, bright and radiant like a penny. The ale is translucent, illuminating a stream of bubbles in the middle of the glass. A finger and a half of off-white head has left thin fingers of lace.

S: Citrus and pepper stand out, although the hops seem to be degrading a spell.

T: The hops have an oily presence, rapidly coating the mouth with hoppy bitterness. Resiny citrus, grapefruity and intense, takes over immediately. The bitterness, having lost just a touch, is still rather strong, able to overtake the caramel with ease. The nugget hops are quite strong, powdery and sharp, near the end of each sip. Hoppy good.

M: The mouthfeel is oily and thick, loaded down by hops. Even with a bit of age under its belt, the ale doesn't pull any punches.

D: Weighing it just over 8%, this is not an ale to take lightly. Still, I'm enjoying it and would have loved to have tried it a few months back.
Jan 24, 2010
Photo of ffejherb
Reviewed by ffejherb from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to FooFaa for sharing this 22oz. bomber on 12/14/09.

A - Poured a hazy burnt orange body with half an inch of bubbly beige head that retained nicely and left a bit of sticky lace around the glass.

S - Initial aroma combines leafy and spicy hop notes with a hint of perfume, sweet caramel malt and a burnt sugar character.

T - Sticky and clingy hops are balanced by a hefty caramel malt backbone and burnt sugar sweetness, then segues into a more perfumy character. Lots of exotic spices mingle with the hops and malt, and, combined with the beefy alcohol, create a bit of heat on the palate.

M - Medium bodied with a thick, syrupy texture and moderate carbonation. Decent amount of alcohol warmth on the palate, but not too heavy. Finishes with a bitterness that lingers for a while on the tongue.

D - Good DIPA but not outstanding, as I was anticipating, especially given the reputation of some of Midnight Sun's other beers. While this was quite hoppy, I found it to lack a discernable hop character, which hindered my enjoyment just a little bit.
Dec 30, 2009
Photo of sprucetip
Reviewed by sprucetip from Alaska

4.31/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
From notes taken while sampling a bomber, but also had this on tap at the new tasting room at the brewery during the same time period.

Pours bronze with slight haze, extremely active with enormous fluffy white head that lasts a long time and leaves thick lacing.

SMELL Huge citrus hop notes accentuated by underlying malty base. Boozy and has legs.

TASTE Rich malty sweetness and light graininess join robust hoppy flavors that are mostly floral but also a bit piny and citric. Alcohol is evident and bitterness is surprisingly mild, but lingers a bit. Very smooth, balanced, complex and just plain tasty.

FEEL Thick, rich, full bodied, viscous with some alc warming and some mild lingering bitterness after the finish.

OVERALL Very tasty, rich, full bodied and complex. A Midnight Sun IIPA if ever there was one. Obviously not for quaffing, due to the size.
Dec 23, 2009
Photo of Patrick999
Reviewed by Patrick999 from Florida

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle. No date notched, so I'm taking my chances. In any event, better drink up.

Looks good in the Stone imperial pint. Moderate foam with good retention, dark gold body, chill-hazed.

Has a sweet. juicy citrus hop aroma, perhaps a touch of pineapple and yellow cake. This bodes well, hopefully this is one of the fresher bottles.

Well, I don't think the integrity of this DIPA has been too badly diminished by age. It can't be *that* old. It must be reasonably young, as it still tastes like a DIPA. Yet while it smelled rather citrusy-sweet, the Warrior and Nugget hops aren't giving much quarter as to sweet grapefruit. It's more of a pungent mint and pine taste, with some pineapple opening up as it warms. The yellow-cake malts are there, threatening to assert themselves more, but they aren't quite at that point yet as this brew is on the dry side. In short, it seems to me to be a straight-up, no-frills, perfectly good DIPA.

It mostly captures the resinous, full-bodied feel I like in a DIPA.

Drinkability is pretty good. It's still plenty hoppy without overrunning by malt, with what I'm assuming to be about 3-5 months on it. I'm sure this really was an Obliteration of the palate ultra-fresh. Good beer.
Dec 23, 2009
Photo of russpowell
Reviewed by russpowell from Arkansas

4.33/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Got this one from imperialking, cheers Jeff!

Pours an effervescent amber with 2+ fingers of rocky pearl white head. Sheets of lacing & near off the chain head retention

S: Breadyness, orange peels, & tobacco & minty hops

T: Leafy & piney hops, biscuitty malt, pears, & herbal hop smack up front. Minty & herbal hops along with grapefruit, dryness & a touch of sticky caramel once warm. Finishes with toffee, pineapple, herbal, minty & leafy hops & just a kiss of booze at the end

MF: Fairly chewy, low carbonation, not super balanced but works for what it is...

Drinks pretty easy, the complexity slows me down a bit... Another good'un from Midnight Sun!
Dec 13, 2009
Obliteration V from Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 45 ratings