Drahthaar
Rahr & Sons Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a bomber into a small glass. Nice golden color, slightly cloudy. Nice head and lacing. Slightly sweet and earthy smell. The taste is strong and sweet, fruity and piney. A decent double IPA.

I was a bit nervous about this when I first saw it. Not because I don't like Rahr & Sons (I like some stuff they do, but not all of it), but because sometimes breweries that specialize in German style beers can make a misstep when they venture out into IPAs or, in this case, the much bolder Imperial IPA. But what the hell. No reason not to try it.

Poured from a bomber to a barrel pint glass. Pours a pretty copper-amber color with a healthy two-finger head and plenty of lace. The nose is quite nice, with lots of sweet citrus and candied sugar. Not as much pine as I would hope from the style, but still indicative of a big IPA. The taste is in line with the aroma as well, but perhaps not as appealing. Not bad, mind you, but not as distinguished. Sweet up front with a heavy caramel flavoring, but with a nice bitter finish. Good, not great. Mouthfeel is smooth and buttery.

Overalll, this is a fine outing from Rahr & Sons. I actually think it's a step up from some of their year-round releases. I'd revisit this in the future. Cheers.

 

22 oz bomber pours a hazed dark gold color - think tortoise urine - with a massive cap of off-white head that sticks around forever.

Nose is very citrusy and caramely sweet. Alcohols abound. Its a bit sugary smelling, but lets see what it tastes like.

Its big, thats for sure and almost malty enough to push this into barleywine territory. In fact, I think it would rate higher as one. The hops and malt are well integrated and the final product is surprisingly smooth. There is not a whole lot of bitterness here, but there is plenty front end aroma and flavoring hops. Its a good beer, but thinking of it as a double IPA isnt quite fair. The mouthfeel is really full and chewy, too much for a IIPA but just about right for a barleywine.

 

 

 

 

Awful. Extremely sweet, lack of malt especially for a double IPA. Perhaps I purchased a bad bottle, but there was an extreme lack of carbonation even with a decent amount of head present

 

 

 

Poured from a bomber into a snifter at 55F. Pour is beautiful burnt orange-red with big beige fluffy head that dissipates down to a thin patchy film with flecks of lacing around the glass. Smell is caramel, butterscotch, apricot, and fig. Mouth feel is medium bodied with medium carbonation up front and slightly resinous at the end. The alcohol is hidden extremely well for a 9.2% ABV beer. Very nice indeed. Taste is malt forward with butterscotch, caramel, and a hint of vanilla. When hops are considered, it tastes a bit like an apricot/caramel pie. This would go great with any type of pie I think, considering that it's sweet like an aged DIPA. That being said, I believe this beer would cellar with the best of them, and already has an aged feel to it as it warms and starts to feel like rich candy. Undoubtedly a delicious DIPA. Some people want to compare this to west coast DIPA's when in reality this is more in the family of the Dogfish Burton Baton Oak Barrel Aged DIPA. Thanks Rahr, keep up the amazing work!