Imperial Red Eye | The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse / Production Works

3.17/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

On-tap at The Brew Kettle in Strongville, Ohio

Pours a light amber with a slight haze, not much head but leaves nice retention and decent lacing. The aromas are pretty faint. There are subtle hints of caramel malts along with some grapefruit and some pine. The flavors are extremely bitter. Tons of pine needles. There's a subtle amount of citrus. They really nail the hop bitterness aspect, but there's not as much hop bitterness. There's also hints of lemon zest. It's a very sharp and crisp beer. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of full-bodied; active carbonation. There are extremely subtle hints of alcohol notes, but it's barely even noticeable. It's very easy to drink.

This is a solid DIPA, but doesn't go that extra mile. Once again, they really nailed the sharp bitterness, which really carries this beer. It's not bad, just kind of boring and somewhat plain. It's well crafted though. It doesn't have the depth of Old 21, which is one of the most underappreciated DIPAs out there.

★ 994 characters