Old Man Strength
Platt Park Brewing Company

a huge imperial red north of 10% abv, sort of an american barleywine or imperial red ipa of sorts, it has a big citrusy candied orange and bitter sort of hop complexion to it, robust all the way through, especially in the finish, and a very heart red malt base thats both baked and sweet, and earthy and rustic, a cool intensity to the malt, teasing some dried cherry and raisin, as well as maple and toffee on the sugar side. the hops and malt come together really nicely here, the orange essence to the hops is a uniting feature, and there is a rum raisin vibe to this, booze as heck in nose and taste, but sort of fancy, and definitely wintery. i like the booziness to it, its not like there is a big thick body or anything, and the exposed alcohol makes it fit the season well i reckon. the bitterness from the hops is nice in the finish for balance, and while i really only care to drink one of these, i liked this a lot. nice to see these guys making some slightly riskier and stronger brews these days, it was getting just a little tired in here for awhile, but stuff like this is what i come back for. good effort here, right on for the holidays!