Imperial IPA
Great Waters Brewing

On tap at the brewpub...

Dark apricot color, hazy and almost brownish at the top. A big head sits on the surface, very big frothy bubbles. Nice and complex sugary laces all over the glass. Fresh citrus aroma, medium prickly and practically all on the hop side of things. Just a brief moment of maltiness -- medium caramel, and then an interuption by apple skin and moving all the way to a finish of very clean Centennial-like American style hoppiness, almost completely of a pink grapefruit flavor. Doesn't come off as excessively high in alcohol, it seems slightly green and unbalanced but the ingredients seem to be in place and this is a nice brewpub rendition with good potential.

Growler, courtesy of my 'cross-the-river bud, tavernjef.

Thoroughly hazy peachy hue, light little bubbly white head.
huge hoppy nose, virile grapefruitiness, overtly citric, muted bitterness, jumping juiciness...
In the taste, juicy, juicy, joo-say...hop presence mild and muted, but still persistent on the palate,...ABV unknown, but 'jef said it was in the 7's...it feels around that, yeah, some kind of alky-hol is butting into my brain, I must admit...
Not quite enough fierceness in the flavor, or the hop profile to make it more than a nice little drink, although I like it a little better as we go further into it. A whole growler to test this theory, eh? Meanwhile, it's also too watery and light...though it's still tasty,...nice stab at it, though...gotta hand it to them...maybe this is practice for bigger things in the future? We hope, we hope...

On-tap at the brewpub: Cloudy golden peach color, firm, yet, small foamy top of off-white hue, lacing in small spots and strings.

Aroma has a slight pine sense over a peachy/orange juice blend. Juicy and sweet smellin' of fresh fruity citrus hops.

Flavor is a whole bunch of orange and tangerine blending with some peachyness, and that's about it. No real profile of pine or bitterness. Quite juicy fresh and sweet with those flavors, nearly like drinking the blend of juices themselves, just add some ABV, and whammo this is it. A screwdriver blended type beer. Obviously has hops to it, but the character of what most Imperial IPA's is not as present as it should be. Needs some layering and some depth to really make it worthy of the title Imperial.

Feel is fairly light in the body, juicy, fresh, sweetly tanged of citrus fruity stuff, but does seem weak-ended and fairly flat with an ABV that hits late but is never present in any other form other then the head senses. It does slide down with good ease; fruit juicy good and sweet, but not nearly the Imperial IPA it could be. I was told it may become more hop atuned as it ages. Which Iv'e heard before from the staff at GW and it's never really made a significant difference in the ones that were to have changed. So if this one does have any noticeable change at my next visit I'll change my review. But as is, its a fruity IPA thats just not Imperial enough to dethrown any of the others I've enjoyed.