Pilot Series: Imperial Red Ale | Alaskan Brewing Co.

3.71/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

3.86/5  rDev -0.5%
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)

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4.38/5  rDev +12.9%
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.

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4/5  rDev +3.1%

3.88/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle. Pours ruby amber with a huge fluffy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet nutty caramel malts and piney hops.

The flavor is sweet nutty caramel malts with a big bitter piney hop finish and a little fruit and resin. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly watery.

Overall, nice balance of the malts and hops. I like it.

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3.75/5  rDev -3.4%

3.88/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 ozBomber.Very run of the mill beer.Lot of reds out there that are a lot better.

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4.5/5  rDev +16%

Had in bottle and on tap at Pig & Fiddle Minneapolis
Resiny hop nose over sweet malt, floral hop spiciness and spiciness from the malts, biscuit.
Very pretty beer. Pours a deep garnet amber to chestnut under 2" frothy light tan tinted head that slowly dissipates to a thick film - lacy.
Palate: Starts with sweet malt and biscuit and rye spiciness along with some cardamom to cola. the initial sweetness lies between vanilla and jam like. There is a strong tea like bitterness along with citrus and citrus rind. Big malt, alcohol and hops that all end up balancing each other.
Medium full to full body, medium low carbonation, warming, oily.

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4.21/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness chalice glass.

Appearance: Pours a deep mahogany amber red with a moderate amount of bubbles. About two fingers of off white head that slowly fade into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing.

Smell: Rich aroma with a good balance of strong malt and hops. Hoppy upfront with earthy hints of grass and pine. Hints of citrus grapefruit, orange peel, pineapple, and lemon. Big sweet malt balance with hints of caramel, toffee, biscuit, yeast, and a mild hint of roast. Some noticeable scents of alcohol. A very solid balanced aroma that is big and sharp.

Taste: Like the aroma hints, a big rich and sharp taste of hops and malt that is balanced. Starts with some sharp hops upfront with notes of earthy grass, spicy pine, and herbal notes. Citrus grapefruit, orange, pineapple, apricot, and lemon. Strong toasty malt balance with notes of sweet caramel, toffee, biscuit, grain, yeast, and toast. Slight undertone of roast. A little alcohol taste is detectable. Very good taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium to heavy bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Somewhat chewy. Fairly drying on the finish. Some alcohol heat is felt.

Overall: A very solid red ale. Aggressive but well balanced mix of hops and malt. Even with a few months on it the hops are still lively.

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3.96/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

big bitter and strong, malt with power hop

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4.25/5  rDev +9.5%

3.73/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

3.5/5  rDev -9.8%

3.25/5  rDev -16.2%

2.75/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

3.81/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

3.75/5  rDev -3.4%

3.66/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Decent red but just feel that the smell falls flat. Taste is red ale with some lingering bitterness. Look is nice red ale hue. Overall solid offering but wish there was more smell to open the beer and give some complexity.

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3.7/5  rDev -4.6%

Pours two fingers of head on a clear dark red body.
The aroma is loaded with dark fruit, dry grains and spice.
The taste is mildly sweet at first, then quickly moderately bitter, tending towards a dry bitter finish.
The texture is crisp.
Quite enjoyable.

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4/5  rDev +3.1%

4.63/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

4/5  rDev +3.1%

3.83/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

650 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Amber body with a nice off white head. Settles to a nice collar and surface foam.

Smell - Grapefruit and pine hops. Nice caramel malt backbone. Smells good.

Taste - Has almost a hoppy American barleywine taste. The malt flavor is very similar. Aggressively hopped. Lots of deep caramel but not sweet. Medium bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium body. Medium carbonation.

Overall - Aggressive malt and hop character. I like it.

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4/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4.55/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A-Golden brown, pretty color. Nice head that slowly subsides.
S-Hoppy with alcohol content obvious in the smell.
T-A nice balance of hops but a bit overwhelmed by the alcohol. Finishes hoppy.
M-Dry.
O-Good beer. Better than ABC's normal line of beers IMHO.
S-22oz bottle

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