Imperial India Brown Ale
Portsmouth Brewery

 

From the NC boys at Pre-Sex

A: Pours a deep cola brown with a nice tan head. Pretty good retention with some lace noted.

S: Very hopped up aromas. Mostly resinous pine hops but there is some citrus as well. I tried to pick up some malt sweetness, but there really was none to be found. The aroma is screaming IPA, and a rather bold one at that.

T: Thank goodness there is some malt in this one. Nice caramel with hints of brown sugar and a dash of chocolate. The hops still rule the flavor as well though. Lots of pine with hints of herbal notes.

M: On the fuller side of medium, hopped up from start to finish.

D: Pretty good. Call it what you want it's an IPA in disguise, and it is a pretty tasty one at that.

<3 India Brown Ales

BeerTruth and I got these in a trade before heading up to Portsmouth for Kate the Great day.

I'm going to start where normally I would end a review such as this: really the best IBA ive had. When I think India Brown Ale, this beer exemplifies what I'm fantasizing about to a sexy T.

The aroma on this is straight up, no questions asked, hops. Simcoe all the way and then some, piney and grapefruit and a touch sweet. Even as it warms towards the end of the bottle the malt never really get a chance in the nose. There are DIPA's that can't step to this.

I'm not sure what is more impressive, the incredible body and mouth feel or the taste. It's a real murky brown looking beer but has an excellent smooth body. Not at all as heavy as it appears, but no slouch either. It is velvety, the carbonation is spot on. Granted, Portsmouth runs on the lower side of carbing even in bottles, but they do it magnificently.

It starts out massive pine and grapefruit and thin, builds body and ends with a smoooth malt finish that is a bit dry. The hops just plaster your mouth, they are not leaving for awhile so get comfy. Yet....balanced! Like getting punched by a DIPA and consoled by an imperial brown. A 9.2% Imperial Brown. Yesss.

A total win in my book. Sorry to everyone missed it.

This is the Oaked version of the Imperial India Brown Ale, served on cask.

The tulip came with a dark brown liquid topped with a large light brown head.

The smell was powered by big resinous, spicy hops and some heavy malts.

The taste coats your tongue with hops and sweet malt. The big hop profile mixed with the high abv makes this beer hot. The bitterness definitely lasts but never becomes astringent. It's very flavorful and delicious. An american oak flavor glued this whole thing together to create even more depth to the flavor.

The mouthfeel had some viscosity to it which was nice. It almost reminded me of Troegs Flying Mouflan but less sweet and easier to drink. I had no problem finishing my pour as I was craving for more after my last sip. But I know the alcohol would do me in this afternoon.

I had this on tap at the Portsmouth Brewery, poured into a snifter glass. The beer poured dark with a thick white head which dissipated into some wonderful lacing.

The aroma was like a hoppy citrus bomb exploding in my nostrils. Gorgeous aroma of Simcoe hops (my fav) just wafted right out of the glass.

The taste is very hoppy up front, but has a subtle malty backbone with some caramel notes in the finish. I was really surprised at how well balanced this beer is, considering its strong hop bill.

As for the mouth feel, my fiancee described it best as velvety without coating your entire mouth. It was extremely drinkable at about 10% ABV, which also makes it dangerous. I decided I'd better grab a growler to go and continue with this one at home.

The hop bill on this brew would put most DIPA's to shame.
It was served to me in a pint glass it arrived with a finger worth of white head that faded to a great lace. The body of the brew was hazy dark brown with mahogany highlights.

Aromas from this beer are pure Simcoe Hops in all its glory. There is nothing brown ale about the smell. The flavor is just as hop forward as the nose but the finish is a little sweet that is were the brown ale comes thru.
Great medium mouthfeel with awesome carbonation makes this an easy brew to drink. I will say the alcohol is well hidden but will catch up with you. I limited myself to three glasses yesterday and I was glad I had a ride home ;-)

Poured from a bottle into a smuttynose tulip. The beer pours a hazy and murky dark brown with mahogany edges that let a little light through. The pour yields a one finger off white foamy head that quickly fades to a tight cap on the beer, leaving a oily and foamy lacing.

The smell is grapefruit first and foremost. I knew this was going to be a hopped up brown, but what a surprise based on the appearance of the beer. Beyond the grapefruit there is a generous amount of caramel and brown sugar. **Edit on 2/1/10. I picked up some bottles today right after bottling at the Brewery** The smell has no malt characteristics what-so-ever. Straight sticky simcoe hops in the nose from start to finish.

The taste is an incredibly balanced blend of intense hoppy flavors, grapefruit, orange peels and lemon followed by just as intense malt highlighted by brown sugar, alcohol soaked raisins and caramel. The finish is a bitter and juicy hop flavor (edit 2/1/10-the juicy hop finish is even more intense, making this an incredible beer). This is a very impressive blend of intense flavors that peak to create a smooth, well balanced (well balanced in an incredibly intense way), very drinkable beer.

The beer is medium-to-heavy bodied, carbonated enough to make the flavors come to life and has a nice dry finish. The alcohol is present, but adds to the flavors rather than detracting. This is a very unique beer that I will happily drink several glasses of at the Brewery while it lasts.

This beer reminds me of a malty IIPA, a barleywine and a jacked up version of Dogfish Head Indian Brown at the same time, it's very interesting.

The beer was a medium brown color with a small tan head and abundant lacing. Aroma was citrus and caramel. Mostly grapefruit taste, a little bit of caramel. Pretty hoppy beer. I thought this was more of an IPA than a brown beer, but there was enough of a sweet caramel malt taste to keep things interesting. I'll be interested to see what others think.