Imperial IPA (Pilot Series)
Alaskan Brewing Co.

Pours an orange-amber color with a minimal tan head that disappears quickly. Aroma is citrus and tropical fruit. Tastes of citrus hops and malt. Medium body.

Damn wish I would've seen the date, this is damn near 11 months old, wish I would've sussed that at the store...

Pours a hazed amber with a finger of cream colored head. Sheets of lacing & great head retention

S: Bready, leafy hops, pear

T: Bready, pears, some grapefruit & pomelo up front. some peppery hops as well. Pear, dryness & breadyness, a little mango & pomelo as this warms, some leafy hops. Finishes with a little figgyness, woody hops, dryness, & a little bready & a touch of grapefruit

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation;. Body thins out as this warms

Drinks alright, I am sure this was more awesome new; a pity they could make their bottling dates a little clearer

Professional appearance, decent clarity, colors running from gold to auburn throughout. A full inch of white head on the top. Aroma was lacking in the dry hop department.

Taste was an old school 100 ibu throwback type of imperial ipa that goes all sledgehammer with the bitterness and crystal malt excess. Definitely a copper like bitterness in the mouthfeel that lasts the entire beer and comes out more as it warms. Shitty bomber format, expensive price per oz.

As usual, this is an imperial ipa that is not as good as the regular single ipa. Might as well be a blend of a barleywine and single ipa.

 

11/28/15 date on bottle...not sure if that is best buy or born on. A bit dated but tastes good still so I will rate it.

L-Deep Oak colored....

S-Caramel, spicy hops...

T-Nice caramel maltiness...hops add spicy herbal notes, as well as light tropical fruits..

F-High side of medium bodied...

O-Enjoyable beer. I'm guessing the hops are more assertive when fresh but still enjoyable.

I did not see the 80 IBUs listed on the label.
Since that is well above my threshold for a sipping beer, I held this for the right opportunity and pulled it out when we went to an Indian BYOB restaurant.
(But of course, the food came on Indian time and I had drunk over half the bomber.)

The beer looks good in the glass and the lacing sticks. And all those hops do give it a bold, fruity aroma.
While the hops take their toll on the tongue, the finish is dryish (also not a favorite sensation.)
Fortunately the spicy food came and overpowered the hops.

 

 

 

 

Pours a deep burnt with large billowing light beige head that gets creamy as it settles leaving a full ring of lace behind.Pine in the nose along with sweet caramel malts.A real creamy feel for the style,it slides down easy.Pine and tangerine upfront on the palate with some caramel and breadiness in the finish.The more I drink the more I like,I even like the malty finish.it never get's to sweet for me.

 

 

 

 

Pours orange amber with a thin lasting white head that leaves trailing lace.

The smell is of citric and tropical fruit - not so much grapefruit, more mango, pineapple, pear. Caramel mixes in.

The taste is of soft fruit - especially pear and a general citric tang. Caramel and alcohol mix in. It has a soft, fruity, not too bitter finish.

It is on the lighter side of the DIPA spectrum, but is smooth despite noticeable alcohol.

Other than the abv, it is a milder, softer DIPA. Enjoyable enough and pretty easy to drink.

 

Appearance: Clear gold, good head.

Smell: Mild fruitiness, seems a little oxidized (cardboard) despite not being particularly old.

Taste: Mild sweetness, fruity, gives a spicy black pepper note. Not bitter, balanced flavor.

Overall: I picked this up from the "new arrivals" section at the store since I've enjoyed Alaskan's specialty series before. This DIPA doesn't quite hit the mark though, not a big blast of flavors like most big IPAs.

L: Pours brilliant copper amber with a 1.5” cream colored foam cap that takes 2 minutes to recede to 1/3 its original size. The cap has a very fine bead and produces extensive lace. S: Some forest floor aromas with light fruit, a hint of citrus, light malt sweetness and some light resin. The hop aromas are medium to medium high, the malt aromas are medium to medium low, clean fermentation aromas. No diacetyl and no DMS. T: More fruit on the palate than the aromas would suggest. Above average hop aromas. Light to moderate levels of malt provide a layer of sweetness topped with a layer of hop based fruit, primarily melon and tropical. No caramel flavors but definite malt character. Has a bitter, lingering fruity finish. Excellent balance between the hop flavors, bitterness, malt sweetness and the alcohol. F: Very creamy, luscious mouth filling texture makes the medium to medium light body feel larger than it is. The medium to medium high carbonation is very fine and soft. O: An excellent, very well balanced beer.