Jet Fuel
Victor-23 Craft Brewing

nice hoppy taste, with a hint of sweetness, not my favorite Imperial, but good. 75 IBUs Rated 7-15-2018

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium coppery amber with a fine two finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, citrus and piney hops, orange, light stone fruit, pine needles; nice and malty. Flavor is caramel malt, big citrus and piney hops, orange, lemon, grapefruit; hints of stone fruit. Malt flavor tapers off as intense hops develop, with the hops eventually totally dominating the flavor into a astringent, piney finish. After the hop assault ends, an pleasant caramel, citrus rind and pine aftertaste lingers. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation. Quite a flavor roller coaster ride with this IPA, with the last half of the taste fairly summed up by the name: it's almost like drinking a volatile hydrocarbon near the end; there is really a jet fuel note. While the malt seems not to support the intense hops, it does reassert itself in the lingering finish, which redeemed this IPA for me. The malty caramel is a nice step back to a few years ago and a plethora of caramel malt IPAs; the intense hopping, although a little overdone is kind of refreshing now that bitter hop finishes are passé. I had mixed feelings about this and find it a bit unbalanced, but the aftertaste and malt kept me drinking. An over the top, but as advertised jet ride of an IPA. With a little tweaking, this could be quite good.
Addendum: I raised the overall a bit because this one grew on me after the first half glass; perhaps the aggressive hops numbed my tongue and balanced things out, but it worked.