Imperial Red Ale (Pilot Series)
Alaskan Brewing Co.
Beer Geek Stats:
| Print Shelf Talker
- Style:
- Red Ale - Imperial
- ABV:
- 8.5%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.89 | pDev: 9%
- Reviews:
- 64
- Ratings:
- From:
- Alaskan Brewing Co.
- Alaska, United States
- Avail:
- Retired (no longer brewed)
- Wants
- 14
- Gots
- 50
SCORE
87
Very Good
87
Very Good
Notes:
Reviews: 64
| Ratings: 266
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Reviews by travolta:
travolta from California
3.71/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
May 22, 2015
3.71/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
May 22, 2015
More User Reviews:
BeerAdvocate from Massachusetts
3.86/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Rich, Sweet, Malty, Bitter
A bright, rich ruby-colored beer and an off-white foamy head with legs. Oranges, herbs, and spice in the nose. Nearly full-bodied, a bit chewy, with lots of carbonation and a crisp and creamy mouthfeel that goes sweet and juicy with oranges, ripe apple, burnt caramel and toasty malts. Leafy hops on the back end leave the finish dry and a bit bitter. Imperial IPA fans looking for something that's more malt forward ... this beer is for you.
STYLE: American Red Ale | ABV: 8.5% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine issue #99 (APR 2015)
Aug 25, 2015
3.86/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Rich, Sweet, Malty, Bitter
A bright, rich ruby-colored beer and an off-white foamy head with legs. Oranges, herbs, and spice in the nose. Nearly full-bodied, a bit chewy, with lots of carbonation and a crisp and creamy mouthfeel that goes sweet and juicy with oranges, ripe apple, burnt caramel and toasty malts. Leafy hops on the back end leave the finish dry and a bit bitter. Imperial IPA fans looking for something that's more malt forward ... this beer is for you.
STYLE: American Red Ale | ABV: 8.5% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine issue #99 (APR 2015)
Aug 25, 2015
greshdoghophead from Ohio
4.38/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Older bottle bomber from summer 2015. Poured very dark into snifter but is red when held to light. Not much foam or lacing. Great unique maltiness, not roasty or amber malt but certainly fitting of an imperial red. Nothing overly notable but yet nothing off putting, solid and chewy with a tiny musty dankness, worthy of praise in a social setting.
Mar 21, 2016
4.38/5 rDev +12.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Older bottle bomber from summer 2015. Poured very dark into snifter but is red when held to light. Not much foam or lacing. Great unique maltiness, not roasty or amber malt but certainly fitting of an imperial red. Nothing overly notable but yet nothing off putting, solid and chewy with a tiny musty dankness, worthy of praise in a social setting.
Mar 21, 2016
bcuz7 from Michigan
3.75/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
May 14, 2015
3.75/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
May 14, 2015
jgunther71 from Illinois
4/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nov 05, 2015
4/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nov 05, 2015
Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania
3.96/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle marked 07 A 071315 at 42 degrees into SA “Perfect Pint”
From a trade with @TheAdjunctHippie
Aroma of malt and spicy hops; malt lasts, hops fade
Head large (Six cm, aggressive pour), tan, frothy, diminishing to irregular three to 15 mm ring and frothy partial layer
Lacing good – broken frothy lace of tiny to small bubbles
Body dark amber, clear, effervescent
Flavor begins with malt followed virtually instantaneously by hop bitterness and ends with a chalky aftertaste. No alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate medium, watery, lively carbonation
Appearance 4.25, Aroma 3.75, Flavor 4, Palate 4, Overall 4
Oct 24, 2015
3.96/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle marked 07 A 071315 at 42 degrees into SA “Perfect Pint”
From a trade with @TheAdjunctHippie
Aroma of malt and spicy hops; malt lasts, hops fade
Head large (Six cm, aggressive pour), tan, frothy, diminishing to irregular three to 15 mm ring and frothy partial layer
Lacing good – broken frothy lace of tiny to small bubbles
Body dark amber, clear, effervescent
Flavor begins with malt followed virtually instantaneously by hop bitterness and ends with a chalky aftertaste. No alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate medium, watery, lively carbonation
Appearance 4.25, Aroma 3.75, Flavor 4, Palate 4, Overall 4
Oct 24, 2015
Hop-Droppen-Roll from Minnesota
4.3/5 rDev +10.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
• Poured from the bomber into a belgian style tulip (from the Libbey 6 pack of beer glasses from Target). Pours a straight up gold from the bottle, in the glass it's a very deep, dark reddish bronze with a three finger head that just won't quit. Sticky lacing, almost a root beer float-esque perseverance on this collar of foam, but more dense, of course. Lacing continues to impress as the head thickness approaches 1.5 fingers with a plateau in the center. This is a highly attractive beer.
• Raisins on the nose, liquid bread, potent enough for my bum sniffer.
• I've been hoping this would finally be the amber/red that I could get behind. It totally is. It tastes like all the reds I've had before but that nasty sweetness is just subtle enough to be enjoyed, and is, for once, well balanced out by the hops and alcohol.
• I've never thought of myself as being qualified to judge mouthfeel. I don't know what I'm looking for. All I know is this one is pleasant, so I'm rating it positively. Any cicerone's reading this that would like to give me some pointers on evaluating mouthfeel, please feel free to shoot me a message.
• Great beer. It makes my sardine burps far less unpleasant. I'm being serious! I don't think I'll be buying anymore of this due to the bomber/value issue, as well as availability concerns, but if this beer made a comeback in 6 packs I'd definitely pick it up. Worth a try!
Jan 16, 2014
4.3/5 rDev +10.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
• Poured from the bomber into a belgian style tulip (from the Libbey 6 pack of beer glasses from Target). Pours a straight up gold from the bottle, in the glass it's a very deep, dark reddish bronze with a three finger head that just won't quit. Sticky lacing, almost a root beer float-esque perseverance on this collar of foam, but more dense, of course. Lacing continues to impress as the head thickness approaches 1.5 fingers with a plateau in the center. This is a highly attractive beer.
• Raisins on the nose, liquid bread, potent enough for my bum sniffer.
• I've been hoping this would finally be the amber/red that I could get behind. It totally is. It tastes like all the reds I've had before but that nasty sweetness is just subtle enough to be enjoyed, and is, for once, well balanced out by the hops and alcohol.
• I've never thought of myself as being qualified to judge mouthfeel. I don't know what I'm looking for. All I know is this one is pleasant, so I'm rating it positively. Any cicerone's reading this that would like to give me some pointers on evaluating mouthfeel, please feel free to shoot me a message.
• Great beer. It makes my sardine burps far less unpleasant. I'm being serious! I don't think I'll be buying anymore of this due to the bomber/value issue, as well as availability concerns, but if this beer made a comeback in 6 packs I'd definitely pick it up. Worth a try!
Jan 16, 2014
jonboyd_md from Alaska
4.16/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
22 oz bottle, Poured into a tulip. Clear, dark, red in color. Tan, dense head. Good lacing. Smells of orange ring. Tastes of pine needles, orange rinds, and caramel. Has a nice mouth-coating quality. Overall an enjoyable beer. It was darker than I was expecting. Worth getting again
Mar 07, 2015
4.16/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
22 oz bottle, Poured into a tulip. Clear, dark, red in color. Tan, dense head. Good lacing. Smells of orange ring. Tastes of pine needles, orange rinds, and caramel. Has a nice mouth-coating quality. Overall an enjoyable beer. It was darker than I was expecting. Worth getting again
Mar 07, 2015
northcoastwolf from Wisconsin
4/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sep 13, 2015
4/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sep 13, 2015
Imperial Red Ale (Pilot Series) from Alaskan Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
266 ratings
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