Helena
Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company
- From:
- Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- Altbier
Ranked #44 - ABV:
- 10%
- Score:
- 88
Ranked #20,981 - Avg:
- 3.92 | pDev: 7.14%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 5
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Apr 19, 2023
- Added:
- Apr 25, 2017
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 3
SCORE
88
Very Good
88
Very Good
Imperial Altbier brewed with cherries
Well hopped and malty with a gorgeous copper red color, our Imperial Cherry Ale is a balanced, full-bodied and crisp ode to the “Old Style” German classic. We then introduce New England grown cherries to our fermenting wort to impart a slightly sour and fruity flavor that blends perfectly for an Imperial brew unlike any you’ll try. It’s a refreshingly easy sipper for any time of year.
Well hopped and malty with a gorgeous copper red color, our Imperial Cherry Ale is a balanced, full-bodied and crisp ode to the “Old Style” German classic. We then introduce New England grown cherries to our fermenting wort to impart a slightly sour and fruity flavor that blends perfectly for an Imperial brew unlike any you’ll try. It’s a refreshingly easy sipper for any time of year.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by harrypowers from Massachusetts
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Here I am trying a beer from another Massachusetts brewer that I have never heard of before.
Pours a murky orange brown with a small short lived head.
Smells of malt, tart cherries and alcohol. Tastes of same with the cherries dominating. There is a slight bitterness and a warm alcohol finish.
Medium body and light carbonation. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel.
This powerful sipper is a lighter less cloy version of some winter warmers that I have had.
Jan 31, 2021Pours a murky orange brown with a small short lived head.
Smells of malt, tart cherries and alcohol. Tastes of same with the cherries dominating. There is a slight bitterness and a warm alcohol finish.
Medium body and light carbonation. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel.
This powerful sipper is a lighter less cloy version of some winter warmers that I have had.
Reviewed by justmebro from Massachusetts
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Deep copper color with minimal white head. Delicious deep malt with mild hops and a nice cherry finish. If it truly was archived, I'm glad they chose to brew again.
Oct 19, 2018
Reviewed by WunderLlama from Massachusetts
3.67/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Canned 8.1.18 , poured 8.30.18
“Happy Birthday Jerry”
Hazy reddish brown liquid crowned with a fizzy one finger taupe foam cap, settles to a tan ring in under 5 minutes , no lacings
Aroma of tart cherries, bready malts, earthy, molasses
Taste is tart cherries, woody, earthy
Medium sudsing, the tartness lingers, claims to be refreshing but the tartness detracts from that claim
Nice beer
Aug 31, 2018“Happy Birthday Jerry”
Hazy reddish brown liquid crowned with a fizzy one finger taupe foam cap, settles to a tan ring in under 5 minutes , no lacings
Aroma of tart cherries, bready malts, earthy, molasses
Taste is tart cherries, woody, earthy
Medium sudsing, the tartness lingers, claims to be refreshing but the tartness detracts from that claim
Nice beer
Reviewed by StoutElk_92 from Massachusetts
4.42/5 rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.42/5 rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
12 oz. can
Pours hazy cloudy amber red with a creamy frothy off-white foam head. Smells like tart cherry, dark toasted bready malts, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, chocolate, dried fruit, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Tastes like dark toasted bready malt, vanilla, marshmallow, coconut, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, chocolate, tart cherries, dried fruit, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Feels light bodied, creamy with moderate carbonation. Overall a real nice altbier with cherries.
Jul 24, 2017Pours hazy cloudy amber red with a creamy frothy off-white foam head. Smells like tart cherry, dark toasted bready malts, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, chocolate, dried fruit, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Tastes like dark toasted bready malt, vanilla, marshmallow, coconut, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, chocolate, tart cherries, dried fruit, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Feels light bodied, creamy with moderate carbonation. Overall a real nice altbier with cherries.
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts
3.35/5 rDev -14.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
3.35/5 rDev -14.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Canned on... wait, no date. Come-on! Also, "imperial" alt-bier, really... that doesn't sound like it's asking for a good time.
Pours a light fizzy fluffy head that fades at a med pace, lots of lacing, dark murky auburn iced-tea brown color, long legs.
Nose very fruity, lots of cherry, cherry and strawberry Popsicle, some fruity esters with a little plum and fig, a little sweet caramel, caramel candy toffee like, reddish malt and sweet brown malt, candy, brown sugar, candied cherries, very sweet and fruity and very little hop presence.
Taste starts with lots of cherry, not a super sweet cherry more earthy mildly sweet cherry but lots of cherry juice, very fruity again, kinda like the cherry in the fruit cocktail dessert, some fruity esters plum mostly, lots of biscuity Belgian like brown malts, toasted toffee and some caramel candy, brown sugar, raw molasses, etc, but still fairly sweet but not a lot, some booze warmth and tingle with a little phenolic character, a touch of herbal hop with very little bitterness. Finish is sticky, very sticky, sweet but the mouth and tongue sucking drying feel from the booze evaporating, lore more candy cherry.
Mouth is med to heavier bod, tons of fluffy carbonation too much, some warming tingly booze.
Overall not really an alt-bier, esp an "imperial" version, no malt presence, more Belgian sweet and biscuity malts than any German like malts, waaaay to heavy and sweet and sticky and boozy for an altbier and NO it should not be imperialized, some biscuit and caramel is fine, and the smoothness is nice but this goes overboard, should not be sooooo fruity and even the esters are more than they should be, too carbonated, and obviously this was not lagered. It reminds me quite a bit of my Belgian cherry quad, its a lot more of that style of beer with so much biscuity sweet caramel candy malts, booze warmth and ester/phenol profile, and the fruit, so if they had labelled this a Belgian quad I'd be all over it, but altbier, NO!
May 19, 2017Pours a light fizzy fluffy head that fades at a med pace, lots of lacing, dark murky auburn iced-tea brown color, long legs.
Nose very fruity, lots of cherry, cherry and strawberry Popsicle, some fruity esters with a little plum and fig, a little sweet caramel, caramel candy toffee like, reddish malt and sweet brown malt, candy, brown sugar, candied cherries, very sweet and fruity and very little hop presence.
Taste starts with lots of cherry, not a super sweet cherry more earthy mildly sweet cherry but lots of cherry juice, very fruity again, kinda like the cherry in the fruit cocktail dessert, some fruity esters plum mostly, lots of biscuity Belgian like brown malts, toasted toffee and some caramel candy, brown sugar, raw molasses, etc, but still fairly sweet but not a lot, some booze warmth and tingle with a little phenolic character, a touch of herbal hop with very little bitterness. Finish is sticky, very sticky, sweet but the mouth and tongue sucking drying feel from the booze evaporating, lore more candy cherry.
Mouth is med to heavier bod, tons of fluffy carbonation too much, some warming tingly booze.
Overall not really an alt-bier, esp an "imperial" version, no malt presence, more Belgian sweet and biscuity malts than any German like malts, waaaay to heavy and sweet and sticky and boozy for an altbier and NO it should not be imperialized, some biscuit and caramel is fine, and the smoothness is nice but this goes overboard, should not be sooooo fruity and even the esters are more than they should be, too carbonated, and obviously this was not lagered. It reminds me quite a bit of my Belgian cherry quad, its a lot more of that style of beer with so much biscuity sweet caramel candy malts, booze warmth and ester/phenol profile, and the fruit, so if they had labelled this a Belgian quad I'd be all over it, but altbier, NO!
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