420 Imperial IPA
SweetWater Brewing Company

A: crystal clear; bronze colored; a 2+ finger finely pored off white or light tan head that receded to a thin cap; nice lacing;

S: peach with pineapple in the background;

T: an odd combination of mango and pine from start to finish; mild to moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; dry finish;

O: nicely made, but the flavor was the weak point;

RB transfer

Super tasty IIPA. Well balanced and strong without tasting like it. Has a sweeter taste and fruity mouthfeel, and I really like IIPAs. Got this from TW&M a little over a year ago.

Note: I am in the process of moving all of my ratings from other beer sites to here, so that all of my ratings are consolidated in one place. The review below is an exact copy of my original RateBeer review from 05/30/2022.


12 oz. can, ABV 9.1%, Best by date: 08/21/2022

AROMA: Pleasant scents of grapefruit, orange, lemon, pine, juniper, and a hint of caramel. Aroma-wise, I find this beer to be fairly complex, compared to most of the beers I've tried lately. With every sip, I feel like there is something new I detect in the aroma. Which makes for a nice change of pace.

APPEARANCE: Pours a translucent medium-brown with a tall, off-white, head that dissipates slowly and has excellent lacing. This is one of the tallest heads (at least 3 fingers) I've had in quite a while! So, another nice surprise.

TASTE: The first thing I notice is that it is sweeter and smoother than the aroma would indicate. From the aroma, I was expecting something a little more tart/sharp. This is anything but tart/sharp. While the taste is not as complex as the aroma, I do detect flavors of sweet citrus (maybe orange or tangerine), and pine. The finish is smooth, sweet, and short-lived. However, just at the back of my throat, I also get a bit of caramel flavor. Which only seems to come out in the finish, and not in the regular taste. Bizarre!

MOUTHFEEL: This is borderline between medium and full bodied, with me leaning toward full-bodied. The texture is as smooth as the flavor (which is pretty smooth), and has average carbonation.

OVERALL: I find that the sweetness slightly dominates the flavor profile. While I would not say that it is overly sweet (at most, it's moderately sweet), I would say that the other flavors are just a bit subdued, comparatively. I still found the beer to be quite enjoyable, but I would have preferred a bit more diversity in the flavor profile. As for the other qualities (aroma, appearance, etc.), I can't really find fault, which is why I will most likely buy this again. Although, next time I think I'll try chilling the beer a little colder, to see if that doesn't help amplify some of the other flavors over the sweetness.

 

L: Amber to dark Amber. Little to no lacing left over. About a 1.5 finger head
S: Subtle hints of mango
T: Real nice and balanced. Not overly strong in any one area and the mango is very nice and subtle.
F: Pretty silk mouth feel. Not too much carbonation. Similar to a guinness.
O: I dont typically go for imperial IPAs so I expected something a little more bitter or hoppier when i saw this but this is really balance and very drinkable imo. Really nicely done.

picked up at John's Market (SE location) in Portland, OR
19.2oz can poured into a Ben's Bottle Shop nonic pint

P dark orange/caramel color w/ a 1-2f off-white head; looks good
N med nose of caramel malts, resin, and pine
T sweet bready malt with light spicing and lots of sweet candied notes throughout; citrusy hops, candied and resinous notes in the finish, med bitterness coats the tongue and lingers; alcohol is extremely well-hidden; profile is reminiscent of a classic pacific nw-style dipa; delicious
Mf med-full bodied w/ soft-med carb; satisfying
O an excellent dipa that exceeded my expectations (even in spite of it being past its best by date); would definitely have again, given the opportunity!

review date: 07.31.22
can date: best by 07.08.22

 

 

From the large can, it pours a clear amber color with a large off-white head that slowly reduces. The nose gets a citrusy with a sweet candy type finish. The mouth gets some pine in the mouth, a bit much to me, followed by the usual bitterness and slight alcohol.

The can was just out of date: 08/17/23

 

Poured from a stovepipe, best by 2/26/23 into a Nonic pint. Not the freshest but not ancient.

On the pour a beautiful, fine, off white, 2 finger head forms with very nice retention. Body is a lightly hazy deep amber. Looks very soft and velvety, and nice lacing forms.

Aroma is slightly off, a touch meaty perhaps? That offness hides beneath a sweet slightly resinous and citrus hop and big caramel malt thing. Not the best smell, I drank a daisy cutter earlier much older than this that smelled nicer. Maybe some slight alcohol is present.

Takes is surprisingly easy drinking, and isn't actually all that bitter, but the malty sweetness and citrus character melds nicely making a nice rich flavor combo. The off flavor is still there, but hides much better in the flavor. The aftertaste is nicely piney and earthy, but still not very bitter.

This is incredibly drinkable and verging on refreshing, while paying a slight homage to the English IPA in malty fullness. Despite that, the beer is immediately slightly dry compared to the malty finish.

Overall, I really do want to try this fresher to see what's going on, and if can conditioning played a role in the aroma, but this is a very promising, and drinkable 9% ABV IPA

 

This beer is described as a steep up from their original ipa, and tastes like it too. It’s strong at 9.1%, but doesn’t taste overly boozy. It’s got sweet fruity notes, and not a lot of hops bitterness compared to others. Might be a new go to IPA

 

 

 

 

Not much to say about this IPA! Great taste, hoppy, well-balanced,etc.