Double Jack Imperial IPA
Northwest Brewhouse and Grill

 

 

This was on tap this weekend at RedBones. It came a cloudy copper color. No head, and a very tight sheet of lace down the side of the glass. It had a very hoppy, fruity aroma. When I tasted it I was surprised. It was much sweeter than I expected. The fruity hop character was there, but there is more malt than I expected. It was very high in alcohol.. It had a slightly slick mouth feel, and I can’t believe I’m typing this… too much alcohol. The alcohol bite is too high to enjoy more than 1 of these.

Glowing golden orange with a massive head of orangey white foam that shoots up my pint glass like a bat out of hell. Aroma are very fruity, sweet, alcoholic, and quite hoppy as well. It should be noted that the hops in the aroma of this brew are not that intense. Initially sweet with an orange candy-coated hop flavor emerging mid-way. The finish is dry and reveals more citric fruit flavors, grapefruit, pine, pineapple, and more. Quite complex, but still too sweet, balanced, and unabrassive for an insane hop head like me. Mouthfeel is medium bodied/full and quite creamy and smooth. Drinkability is quite good, but this was a bit dissapointing after the double-dry-hopped ipa from this brewery. Still a nice IIPA, thanks Kim.

Appearance – The deep, hazy orange color is just gorgeous. I could stare at this one all day. The head was light orange in color and rose from the liquid like a volcano. It showed great retention and left some awesome lacing along the inside of my Walking Man glass.

Smell – The big, floral notes come on strong and just do beat out the wonderful pine to dominate the nose. The malts are huge as well and nicely toasted.

Taste – The rich, chewy, “120 Minute” malty taste is huge. It is deep and covered in the complex hops from the nose.

Mouthfeel – This Imperial IPA is rich and chewy and almost full in the body. It is high-octane hoppy go-go juice.

Drinkability – This is a heavy-hitter that I think will improve with six-months in the cellar, but I’m keeping some out to drink right now.

Comments – My one compliant about the other Double/Imp IPAs from this brewery is that the heads and overall appearance of the beers always seem to disappoint. They fixed the problem, though, with this offering.