Butte Creek Organic Revolution X Imperial IPA
Butte Creek Brewing Company

Butte Creek Organic Revolution X Imperial IPAButte Creek Organic Revolution X Imperial IPA
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From:
Butte Creek Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
9.1%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.72 | pDev: 13.44%
Reviews:
97
Ratings:
99
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 13, 2016
Added:
May 27, 2006
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  0
Brewed for their 10th Anniversary; organic.
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Ratings by franksnbeans:
Photo of franksnbeans
Reviewed by franksnbeans from Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a deep copper/burned orange with a full head that laces as it slowly dies. Smells bready, caramel, earthy, and grassy, grapefruit hops. Starts sweet then a rush of citrus rind hops that battle with the malt until finally emerging victorious with a lingering bitter finish. Mildly full in the mouth with good carbonation. ABV is somewhat noticeable but this is a huge beer and its well hidden behind the malt/hop battle.
Oct 06, 2007
More User Ratings:
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.43/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Brings a hot orange appearance, sexy all over this one, 1" white head. Aroma though doesn't drop dry hopping, it comes off almost fusel alcohol like.

Taste still drops lots of alcohol. The bitterness is 100ibu level. Alcohol and ibus rule this one more than hops. Needs more hop flavor. Eh, there's plenty of these beers, and I don't like the bomber format costing more than a smaller format would.
Jun 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by jrob21 from North Carolina

Oct 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 15, 2012
Photo of Beerandraiderfan
Reviewed by Beerandraiderfan from Nevada

3.76/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bright orange appearance. Big foam head. Aroma is overwhelmingly of alcohol.

Taste brings more alcohol. Massive bitterness and hop quality. Its enjoyable, but abrasive. Mouthfeel, the alcohol pungency just doesn't go away, and it keeps this beer from being an elite level DIPA, and instead has to just settle for being a very good DIPA.
Mar 23, 2010
Photo of SilentSabre
Reviewed by SilentSabre from North Dakota

3.9/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Brewed in 2006, so I am to assume this beer has changed quite alot from how it was intended to taste.
Colour is a beautiful orange amber with a thick eggshell wheat coloured head that subsides in a few moments. Looks terrific; less like an IPA and more like something like an Old Ale. Smell is deliciously sweet. An amalgam of toasted oats and other cereal grains, honey, candy-sweet hops and bit of an earthiness down at the bottom. Almost like 3F's Drednought meets JW Lee's Vintage Harvest.
Taste was almost candy sweet with equally assertive hop bitterness, both vying for control of your palate. There's also a caramel element present here in both the flavour *and* the smell.
Feel was rather average with modest carbonation, but with a bit of a punch. The 9,1% is quite noticeable as being *so* strong, but were I to have to guess, I'd say at least 7 and change...
While I'll never know what this was like in 2006 when it was fresh, with this much age on it, it's *really* tasty!
Mar 23, 2010
Photo of hophead247
Reviewed by hophead247 from California

3.95/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured a nice creamy two inch off white head. There was excellent lacing left behind. Solid grapefruit aroma with a grainy maltiness that grows stronger as the beer warms. Nice tasting IIPA. Hop bitterness and some sweet malt hit first on the initial sip. But the flavor at this point is smooth and subtle. As the taste proceeds the hops ramp up the intensity. Just past the midway point a grainy maltiness flavor emerges but fails to overcome the big hop bitterness and slightly sweet hop flavor. I really like the big beer flavor of this big beer. Well done.
Feb 15, 2010
Photo of tmoneyba
Reviewed by tmoneyba from Ohio

4.2/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle from Whole Foods, Sarasota, FL 11/2007.

Poured a hazy copper color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with fair lacing.

Heavy complex citrus hoppy aroma with a alcohol tone.

Medium body with a slick texture.

Heavy bittersweet flavor with a heavy bittersweet and small alcohol bite finish of moderate duration.

This is a standout beer.
Jan 28, 2009
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22oz bottle acquired in trade with jimbowood (thanks!).

Poured a deep and slightly hazy amber color with a reddish tint and a large sized off white head. Aromas of floral (had a wet hop leaf aroma), citrus, and light caramel. Tastes of caramel, oranges, brown sugar, and pineapple. Medium alcohol in the finish.

Notes from: 12/5/06
Jan 12, 2009
Photo of CrellMoset
Reviewed by CrellMoset from Virginia

3.2/5  rDev -14%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottle as an extra courtesy of numbeercruncher - thanks!! Poured into a 22 oz. Terrapin snifter.

Appearance: An incredibly dirty, turgid caramel, orange amber, with a relatively fast-fading one-finger off-white head. I'm pretty disappointed with the retention on this one. The carbonation is sparse, fine-to-medium bubbled, and slow. Lacing also leaves a lot to be desired. Not a great start.

Aroma: Sticky, caramelized sugars and faint pine. It's surprisingly faint, actually, given the taste (more on that soon). Severe agitation doesn't even do that much for this one.

Taste: Thick sticky malts - heavily roasted, doughy, bready, largely sweet and heavily roasted - do a decent job of balancing some sticky, resinous hop flavors. Pine, heavy, sticky citrus (more orange than grapefruit, though a definite presence of both), a dash of bitterness, and a few tropical fruit flavors provide a decent if uninspired blend. There's also, unfortunately, some chemically bitterness in the close, soapy, course, slightly metallic. A lot of the good hop notes are sort of subdued here, buried under the sticky, sugary, syrupy sweetness of the malt foundation. Unfortunate.

Mouthfeel: Thick, sticky, with minimal carbonation. This one leaves way too much of a sticky, resinous, oily film. Way too many residual sugars.

Drinkability: A pretty average to slightly-below average DIPA. I'm probably a little harder on this style than most as it's my favorite, so keeping that in mind, I'll say this beer had some promise - it's just that everything was a little bit too far off.
Dec 31, 2008
Photo of beerthulhu
Reviewed by beerthulhu from New Jersey

3.97/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Poured a hazy amber-orange with an off white head. There were some visible peppery floaties and carbonation was very good.

S: sweet caramel followed by a big aromatic of dry pine and grapefruit hopping. There was some breadiness aand grassy hopping in the end as well.

T: The initial flavor was bitter grapefruit with a dry grassiness against a sticky caramel backing. The sweet malt was balanced nicely with the huge hoppiness and alcohol which was hidden very nicely. The beer finished dry with a good hop bitterness.

M: sticky with pine resin, a medium body with a nice viscosity and chewy texture.

D: Good drinkability, with the alcohol being hidden nicely behind the huge hoppiness and malt palate. Overall a good drinking 2x ipa.
Nov 25, 2008
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

3.71/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I tried this beer a few times in the past but never had a bottle to myself.Poured with great clarity a full rich copper/bronze with a tight creamy-like slight off white one finger head that never really completely settled.Lighter aromas of herb and grass with a touch of pine,a sweeter alcohol dipped fruit alcohol and caramel base shows through as well.Flavors are not huge,the hops are more herbal and medicinal in naturejust a touch of pine.The alcohol shows through and lends some big sweetness,there is a touch of nuttiness to the malt profile as well.Iam not sure how old this beer is,Iam guessing likely over a year but its still has some decent qualities to it,not great but good.
Nov 25, 2008
Photo of Metalmonk
Reviewed by Metalmonk from North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a bountiful, creamy head that immediately shows stickage by throwing thin splashes of lace on the glass. Color is a reddish orange, sunburst, sunset, whatever you like, it's beautiful.

Despite showing no bottling or best-by date, I believe this is well over a year old, possibly two, and the nose shows that, with hops already fading into the more prominent super-doughy malt. I'm not into aging hoppy beers, but this one was still on the store shelf, so I rescued it. While not having the hoppiness preferred in this style, it still is an undeniably succulent aroma, especially if you like a big dessert-y, doughy, bready malt smell.

Flavor-wise it's quite tasty, the malt being the surprise star of the show. Hops are there, a little grassy yet without astringency, juicy and fruity too, very much incorporated into the brew rather than sticking out and stealing the show. Of course I wanted them bigger and brighter, but considering the bottle's age, I'd suspect this is taking on a different profile than if it were fresh. Alcohol is slightly warm, not quite hot, and together with a candy-like malt sweetness--like a candy-apple with cinnamon taffy melted over it--it's kind of intense in its own way. Alcohol is felt mostly in the finish, along with a minty/bready tangle of flavor.

Mouthfeel is creamy and even oily, yet springy enough; very good balance, medium bodied probably, worth focusing on, although not quite as creamy as the best double IPAs.

For an aged, possibly over-aged organic DIPA, this is as good as could be expected, possibly better. It's better than their so-so Train Wreck barleywine, the only other Butte Creek beer I have experience with. I'd like to check out the XI anniversary version of this and see how it fares, especially at a younger age.
Nov 16, 2008
Photo of erikm25
Reviewed by erikm25 from Texas

3.18/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A: Pours a dark caramelized orange. Thick and viscous looking with heavy oaked gold and burnt orange coloring. Head is creamy and a light tan coloring. Good retention and spotty lacing. Sits in the glass more like a solid.

S: The smell accurately resembles the appearance. Caramel soaked oranges. Maybe with a little bit of honey thrown in. Lives up to the organic moniker with earthy, pine, vanilla, and grapefruit tinges. Overall, rounded and biscuity. Would have liked a little more hops and less of the caramel malts but it had me taking lots of sniffs.

T: Thick orange peel citrus coupled with sweet malts and torched sugars. Strange combination of woody and sweet. As it warms a grapefruit tang becomes more apparent. Definitely a different twist for a DIPA but still a relatively solid hops finish. I can't actually tell if I am tasting the alcohol which is either peculiar or a testament to the confusing complexity.

M: Feels medium to full bodied and heavy on the sugars.

D: Little too much caramel sweetness for me. I would still recommend this one to anyone new to this style or looking for something with a different take.
Oct 25, 2008
Photo of Overlord
Reviewed by Overlord from California

3.78/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Seems like a barleywine to me.

Pours a goldish orange. Big white foam head. Aroma is boozy, citrus-y, piney, and boozy. Did I mention how boozy it smelled?

Robust flavor with caramel malt backing everything, lots of raw citrus, and a bit of ... vanilla? Interesting. A bit raw with alcohol.

I don't know if I'd revisit, but pretty good.
Sep 28, 2008
Photo of ruckzuck
Reviewed by ruckzuck from Georgia

3.78/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A - hazy golden orangish brown with a bit of a white head which dissipated somewhat quickly

S - grapefruit, citrus, hops, alcohol, and a bit of malt

T - somewhat sweet malt up front, hops toward the end and the lingering grapefruit/citrus taste toward the back of the tongue is nice

M - medium-full bodied, some carbonation

D - this is enjoyable and I'm glad I picked it up, but I'm not sure that I could more than the 22 oz I've got here in a sitting. Perhaps as my mouth acclimates to the alcohol (which seems fairly present) I'll change my tune, but I'm hitting submit now.
May 11, 2008
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.67/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Acquired from rayjay courtesy of the BA Secret Santa 2007, so a big "Thank you" goes out to him. Poured from a 22oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep orange/amber color, with a medium off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is hoppy with some citrus and caramelized malt.

T: The taste starts out fruity, malty and sweet with flavors of citrus and caramel up front. As the sweetness fades, a strong hops presence comes in. However, ever despite the bitter bite, the floral hops flavor seems a little subdued. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy.

M: Smooth and crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, strong kick, good representation of style, it's pretty good for an organic beer and it's worth drinking for a while. However, overall, it's not the first beer that I would choose when I want to throw down a good 2IPA.
Mar 25, 2008
Photo of dsa7783
Reviewed by dsa7783 from New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 oz bottle copped from Super Saver in Somerville...
First beer from this brewery, and I was very impressed with the quality and character of this Imperial IPA...
Pours a rich, deep, dark-amber hue, ruby-red with a touch of copper and a medium-sized head that soon receded, leaving hardly any lacing... slight carbonation certainly visible, though...
The aroma was literally bursting with fresh, organic hops, true-to-the-style, with a touch of caramel and vanilla...
Taste certainly complemented the flavor... the hops really made themselves dominant and their presence known on this one - both in the mouth and nose, filled with sweet caramel, citrus, and fresh florals - a great all-around depiction of the style...
Crisp, clean, clear, refreshing mouthfeel without any alcohol detectable at all...
Equally good level of drinkability - this one was a good sample...
Good stuff...
Recommended...
Mar 19, 2008
Photo of MuenchenerKindl
Reviewed by MuenchenerKindl from Germany

3.85/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22 or bottle to a pint glass the liquid is cloudy yellow with good carbonation. The head is ok one finger, white and leaves some lace.

The smell is earthy bitter hops with well toasted malt.

The taste follows, very big and bitter hops, with a very interesting, toasted malt that seems mildly complex. I bit of char, and a coffee and chocolate note in the after taste.

The mouthfeel is big and thick, lots of good carbonation.

The drinkability is good. I would indeed be interested in trying this brew again.

Prosit, MK
Mar 17, 2008
Photo of ChainGangGuy
Reviewed by ChainGangGuy from Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a clear, dark amber body small, frothed off-white head.

Smell: Redolent scent of sliced grapefruit, grass, and candied oranges set against malty spiced caramel.

Taste: Sweet, toasty caramel maltiness transitions right into the earthy, resinous bitter hop flavors of pine, grass, and grapefruit. Moderate bitterness. The heavy malts try to make a comeback, but this is a Double IPA after all. Plenty of bitterness remains for the long, lingering finish.

Mouthfeel: A hair above medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Slight oiliness to the mouthfeel.

Drinkability: For one reason or another these organic beers can be a real organic buzzkill, but this one, for all its barshness, is pretty a-ok.
Mar 10, 2008
Butte Creek Organic Revolution X Imperial IPA from Butte Creek Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 99 ratings