Grapefruit Imperial IPA (Pilot Series)
Alaskan Brewing Co.

 

Bottle poured into a snifter

A: Pours golden orange amber with a frothy beige head that settles to a firm layer and laces nicely.

S: Herbal notes, resinous pine, citrus, floral notes, peppery spice, toasty bready malt, and toffee sweetness.

T: Citrus, grapefruit comes right out and mixes nicely with other notes of tangerine and lemon, resinous herbal pine, peppery spice, a bit floral, a little underlying tropical and stone fruit, peach, mango, apricot, and passion fruit, slight earthy undertones, toasty bready malt, and caramel toffee sweetness.

M: A bit on the fuller side of medium body, moderately soft carbonation.

O: Some fruited IPAs taste like juice with hops added, but here the grapefruit mixes in nicely with the natural citrus notes from the hops to add a little extra depth without fully taking over. Feels like it's built on a kinda old school DIPA style sturdy malt backbone that also keeps it in check. Wish the grapefruit popped a bit more on the nose, and for a summer seasonal I wish it was a bit brighter, but overall it's still a pretty solid beer. It would probably taste a little better on an early summer evening as it's cooling off rather than mid summer when it's still 90°F at 11 PM.

Pours a dark copper, almost amber in color with two fingers of foamy head. Nose is grapefruit, pine, earthiness. Taste follows the nose to a tee. Mouthfeel is medium with moderate carbonation. Finish is quite bitter, nearly all grapefruit and subsequent rind. It was a valiant effort, but I wouldn't revisit as there are better grapefruit'd IPAs.