Chillwave
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

ChillwaveChillwave
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From:
Great Lakes Brewing Co.
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #250
ABV:
9%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,645
Avg:
4.27 | pDev: 9.13%
Reviews:
542
Ratings:
3,433
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 09, 2024
Added:
Feb 17, 2013
Wants:
  336
Gots:
  710
Formerly known as Alchemy Hour Double IPA.

Inspired by the North Coast's dedicated (and sometimes chilly) surf community, our Double IPA will melt the ice in your beard and never lose its balance.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by brewtechnik:
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Rated by brewtechnik from New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +5.4%

Apr 11, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 5 by PhucklesTheClown from West Virginia

Feb 09, 2024
 
Rated: 4.16 by robotic_being from Illinois

Feb 03, 2024
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Rated by JDUBWA412

5/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
always have loved this one
Jan 31, 2024
 
Rated: 4.38 by Iggy88 from Ohio

Jan 20, 2024
Photo of Papercut4
Reviewed by Papercut4 from Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pours out of the can a nice rich amber color with 2 fingers of head and decent retention. Smells like citrus, a little resinous, and maybe a little earthy. Taste leans to the malt and less on the hops, but the citrus notes are still there, just a little lost in the booze. Very robust mouthfeel for an imperial, almost syrupy.
May 19, 2023
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Reviewed by Radome from Florida

3.92/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Tasted from a 16 oz can bought in Ohio.

L - Light copper color makes it look more like an amber ale than IPA. Perfect clarity. Cream colored head faded quickly after the pour, leaving just a thick ring around the glass.

S - Sweet candy-like hops aroma has citrus, avocado and wood-like notes, with tropical fruit at a lower level. There is also a cardboard note in the finish that seems to have been caused by oxidation or age.

T - Strong hops flavors, again with citrus and tropical fruit, but also an herbal note. There is also a malt presence, with sweet bread, reminding me of Hawaiian dinner rolls, and very light caramel. The oxidized note in the nose does not seem to emerge in the flavor, luckily. the malt/hops balance is fairly even, as expected for a DIPA.

F - Medium to thick body, with some mouth-coating sweetness. Bracing hops bitterness helps cut through the sweetness. Medium carbonation is prickly rather than creamy. Strong, slightly hot alcohol presence.

O - This is a tasty DIPA, but the aroma has an apparent age or oxidation-related flaw. The bottom of the can has the date 4/18/23, which can't be the "born-on" date, because I am drinking it before that date. Perhaps it is the "best before" date and I was getting close to that, which could explain why it doesn't smell like the freshest sample.
Apr 15, 2023
 
Rated: 3.77 by hophugger from Virginia

Mar 15, 2023
 
Rated: 4.33 by CoasterGuy from Pennsylvania

Mar 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.2 by MarcBeer

Feb 25, 2023
 
Rated: 4.35 by Curt3 from Ohio

Feb 07, 2023
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Reviewed by NCSapiens from Indiana

3.92/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Amber color with ample white foam and lacing is quite attractive. Smells like a yeast sugar bomb. Taste is alcohol sweetness, malt, and floral hops that also bring a bit of pine, orange, peach, mango and grapefruit. It’s well balanced and inoffensive, but ultimately a bit uninteresting in my opinion.
Jun 03, 2022
Photo of izraelc
Reviewed by izraelc from New York

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a clear amber. Thin foam. Hop resin aroma. A lot of interesting flavors. Citrus fruit, pine, and caramel. Thick and syrupy. The hops are a little muted. Slight bitter finish. Chewy with a little alcohol. A great all around brew.
May 21, 2022
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Reviewed by BuxMontBeerLover from Pennsylvania

4.17/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Purchased at Wegmans, Warrington, PA. 4pk (16oz cans). Imperial IPA Series imprinted on the top of the can.

Pours a deep golden brown color. Semi-opaque but not hazy. A thin, cream colored head on the initial pour.

Aromas of malt, pine and lemon.

A very good Imperial IPA. Definitely malt forward with tastes of piney resins, lemon and pineapple. Rather bitter aftertaste. The ABV is pretty noticeable but doesn’t overwhelm the overall taste.

Thicker consistency with low carbonation.

Overall, a great tasting IPA. You have to enjoy the bitterness of this type of IPA to appreciate this brew but it’s right up my alley. I’d seek out in the future…cheers!
May 15, 2022
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.24/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Great Lakes Brewing Co. "Chillwave Imperial IPA"
16 fl. oz. can coded "31168DM 05/20/22" and sampled on 05/14/22.
$3.49 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what makes Chillwave, Chillwave? I know it's an Imperial IPA at 9% with 80 IBUs but there are no hops listed on the label, nor any malts. It's a hazy deep copper in color beneath a short head of khaki colored foam so there must be some specialty malts in it. Ahhh, let's just taste it and see. Firstly it's got an interesting malt aroma to it. It's almost like oatmeal raisin cookies crossed with banana bread and then some added citrus and pine notes are thrown in. The taste follows with the malt acting as a solid support for the hops. I get orange, pineapple, pine, a little bit of grapefruit, apple, sweet bread, English biscuits, a light drizzle of golden caramel, some honey, and a swirl of spiciness that's most likely due to a combination of the alcohol and hops. That's impressive! It's not as bitter as you'd think given the listed 80 IBUs because there's actually a lot of malt there as well. It's sweetish and malty overall, and it finishes semi-dry with a dollop of honey-ish malt and some herbal and gently piney character lingering. In the mouth it's medium-full in body and gently crisp-then-smooth. The head held up fairly well but it didn't leave a whole lot in the way of lacing. With everything said and done this is a great double IPA with an interesting and compelling malt component that's threaded through with a pleasant array of hop flavors.
Review #7,970
May 14, 2022
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Reviewed by Curt2969 from Ohio

4.43/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
So damn good. And for the price that these typically are listed at, you'll be hard pressed to find anything better. I'm a huge GLBC fan. And this seasonal brew is something I look forward to every year. Never disappoints.
May 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.93 by DrewTheBrew from Ohio

May 07, 2022
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Reviewed by n-Pitt

4.38/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
L: Exactly what I like in a beer. Dark brown body, perfect quarter inch head throughout the session.
S: Light for the style, pleasant, oaky/piney sweetness. Not hoppy or fruity
T: A solid IPA flavor, but it was missing the fruity tartness I like in IPAs. Still very pleasant just felt like something was missing. Very drinkable. I prefer other Great Lakes IPAs though.
F: Smooth and full almost creamy mouthfeel. Head thick and frothy.

Really enjoyable beer. Missing something special/standout. Would drink again in a heartbeat if I was handed this beer, but would opt for a different IPA that more closely matches my personal tastes next time.
Apr 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.42 by TMoorePA from Pennsylvania

Apr 17, 2022
Chillwave from Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 3433 ratings