Imperial Ice Axxxe
Ice Axe Grill / Mt. Hood Brewing Co.

 

Appearance: clear orange in color with a thick two finger head that lasts a while. Thick lace paints the glass.

Smell: very mild citrus and malt sweetness, with a soft layer of floral hops.

Taste: after the weak aroma, I was surprised this had a nice malt base, with some green apple, orange slices, and a pleasant floral bitterness. Alcohol is barely noticable. Well balanced and a bit dry.

Mouthfeel: crisp and dry throughout. Aftertaste is relatively short on the bitterness and citrus tones. Medium bodied.

Drinkability: easy drinking for the style. Worth having on tap.

Found this on tap at Kelly's Olympian. It has a copper to bronze colour with an average sized head which leaves a little lacing. It has a sweet herbal hose water smell (I like hose water) and very sweet white sugary start which gives way to a cleaner, more malty, metallic aftertaste. This is good stuff, but the sweetness becomes rather cloying after a while, so one pint is probably the optimal amount.

The tangy juicy-fruit aroma of Mt. Hood’s Imperial Ice Axxxe bears a close resemblance to that of their regular Ice Axe IPA. The smell also bears similar notes of cherry, while the malty taste harbors notes of apple. The fruitiness is placated towards the finish by a gentle blanket of bitterness. The clear, dark copper body was nearly headless on my pint but left a wide, solid rim of lace behind.

Though they’re both fine beers, I personally preferred the regular Ice Axe to the Imperial. Despite an ABV said to be at 8.0%, the body of Ice Axxxe is actually thinner and the mouthfeel less complete.

Imperial Ice Axxxe was served from the tap at the Mt. Hood Brewing Pub. In the pint glass, the beer was a deep amber, with a fine white head that left fine sheets of lacing. The nose was robust and richly-developed, with a floral/citric hop bouquet and a complementary caramel maltiness. Some alcohol was noticable. On the palate, a tasty orange citric tinged-round and full English-style malt profile opened up and was followed by a nice juicy fruit hoppiness which melded well with the malts. The finish was moderately bitter for an imperial IPA, and held a wonderful array of fruity esters in the finish and lingering notes. The body was very smooth, full, and creamy, working very well with the flavors and character of the beer. This imperial IPA was big enough to be satisfying, yet restrained enough to be approachable for the unitiated and quite drinkable for imperial junkies. Overall this is a solid and well-crafted brew that is certainly worthy of your mug.