For our Halloween party each year. I usually pick up a few cases of commercial beer for people to drink instead of my homebrew. Since it’s a Halloween party, I usually try and get beers that fit with the theme. So, usually one of them is Rogue Dead Guy Ale, but this year I found this Imperial IPA version and went for it instead. And since it’s been in the beer fridge for a couple of months now, I figured I’d better drink these up.
Location: Poured into a Teku style pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL
Numbers: 9.6% ABV, 40 IBUs, 11 SRM, ~400 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s fairly hazy and bright orange in color. The bright white, creamy head fell to a thin layer covering the top after several minutes, leaving some very nice lacing on the glass. The aroma was a light dank hoppiness with a hint of stone fruit.
Taste & Feel: It’s got a medium body with a smooth mouthfeel with a bit of hoppy crispness. The flavor up front is a juicy sweet earthy-dank hop flavor. It gets even juicier and sweeter in the middle, but the juicy earthy-dank hop bitterness comes back and opens up in the finish. The nice juicy bitterness fades slowly in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: The juicy sweetness and dank bitterness would be a great pairing for a savory burger with tomatoes, lettuce and onions. The dank-earthy bitterness compliments the burger, while the burger toppings are complemented by the hop juiciness.
Overall Impression: This is a big double IPA that’s got some great hop flavors. I really enjoy the dank, earthy hoppiness with a mouthwatering hop juiciness that makes you wanna take another sip. When I tried this side-by-side with this year’s Hopslam, I like the flavorfulness of this one more. I’m definitely getting more of this for our Halloween party next year, hoping that none of our guests drink it again.
My Rating:
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