Scarlet Imperial Red
Bend Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap @ the Bend Brewing Company (Bend, OR) on 9/1/11. Served in a pint glass. ABV listed as 9.0%

Pours a deep clear ruby, with a ½ finger of off-white head. This retains with a thin creamy richness that just rings the sides of the glass with heavy foamy swathes of lace. The aroma smells floral, piney, and spicy, which is layered on top of a sweet and tangy dose of green bitter fruit and sticky caramel malts. There is a decided amount of roastiness here as well that further adds to the overall flavorful fullness of the nose.

The taste is strong with bitter citrus and resins up front. This is buffered by a thick mix of sweet caramel and dark toasted malts. Dry lingering notes of pith, pine, and spice hang with some strength in the mouth. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied, with a big prickly creaminess to the feel that then gets a bit more mellow and creamy along the back. There is a bit of alcohol warmth across the tail-end of each sip but for the most part, it’s really nice hid here.

This was quite good for an Imperial Red, with a powerful, yet well balanced mix of hops, sweetness, and roast here that really drenches the palate and nose with its rich flavors. This is just one of those beers that command you to sit up and pay attention when you’re drinking it. I’ll say it again. This is just a really nice take on the style and makes me wish that I still had some more room left in the stomach after a full day of drinking to try some other beers from here.

Pours a half finger of reddish-tanned head over a cloudy brown (red edges) liquid. Smells lemon, berry, and pith. Beneath are orange oils, pink grapefruit, and baby aspirin.

Taste is a blast of fruity hop with some esters, moderate clean hop bitterness, and mild malt sweet beneath. Dry finish from decent attenuation, hop bitter, and fine carbonation. Hop flavors are lemon, pine, white grapefruit pith. Esters are mild overall, but blueberry and papaya. Malt is either non-descript or too dominated by the hop flavor and bitter for me to identify. As the beer warms and breaths, the hop bitter becomes much stronger. It carries a flavor of iron. It's quite clean and is very piercing, like an extreme version of the zip you get from hops in a czech pils. Md-thick body. Decent beer, and an enjoyable example of the style.

On the nitro tap at the brewery 9/13 poured into pub glass.

Deep mahogany red body, one finger light tan head, slow disapation with nice lacing. Big spicy hop presence in the nose with bready malts pushed to the background. Huge hops in the taste, a bit of citrus offset by the spicy piney finish. Very smooth mouthfeel for the style with a rather dry finish. Alcohol pretty noticeable, but this stuff taste good-as does everything that Tonya Cornett brews. Girl Power, Indeed...