Name: Hardcore IPA

Brewery: Brew Dog

Overall Rating: A

Style: Imperial India Pale Ale

Serving Style: 22 oz Bomber

ABV: 9 %

IBU: 150

Price: $ 5.95

Aroma: A light citrust smell with a hoppy after tone.  There are also some floral hints as well.

Appearance:  A beautiful amber color.  Some lacing around the walls of the glass.

Flavor:  I enjoyed the flavor of this IPA, a good bitter taste.  I like bold tasting beers and this one is bold.  Not a wimpy brew at all.  If you like your brews more on the mild side then you might not like this one.  For those that like to really taste their brews then give       this one a try.

Mouthfeel:  Good body and rich in form.  Light carbonation.

Enjoyability:   For a European IPA, it was very bitter but I am from the west coast, so I enjoyed this. 

Another take:            Brew Dog                                                                 Beer Rater

Silk screened bomber bottles look great but once you’ve consumed the tasty contents, there is not much you can do but toss it in the trash (or recycle bin if that’s your thing).  As a homebrewer, I don’t tend to re-use silk screened bottles.  There’s just something weird about my imperial stout coming from a Rogue Captain Sig bottle.

A crafty guy no doubt decided to turn his empties into profit by chopping the tops off and making “Mandles”.   Pretty slick idea, but way over priced.

Here’s the choices listed on the website:

ROGUE BREWERY:
Dead Guy Ale
American Amber Ale
Capt. Sig’s Northwestern Ale
Shakespeare Stout
Kell’s Irish Style Lager
Orange Honey Wheat
Juniper Pale Ale
Hazelnut Brown
Yellow Snow IPA
Mom’s Hefeweizen
St. Rogue Red
Brutal Bitter
Youngers Special Bitter

STONE:
Arrogant Bastard Ale
IPA
Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

NEW BELGIUM LIPS OF FAITH:
Le Fleur Misseur
Beir de Mares

The Brew Kettle Old 21 Imperial IPA

Name: Old 21

Brewery: The Brew Kettle

Overall Rating: B-

Style: Imperial India Pale Ale

Serving Style: 22oz Bomber

ABV: 9.1%

IBU: 90

Price: $5.99

Aroma: Powerful citrus and pine hop tones blast the nose.  An odd sulfuric smell was detected that reminded me of a bad homebrew I once had.

Appearance: Beautiful copper color.  Clear with a nicely formed head.

Flavor: Deep hop resins coat the tongue.  Simcoe hops show there dominance.  Residual sugars step forward and dance on the line of being too sweet.

Mouthfeel: Heavy stuff.  This is a particularly heavy IIPA, especially for the “american” style.

Enjoyability: It’s great to see the Brew Kettle beers make it to the shelves.  They’re an amazing brewpub in Strongsville, OH that I can’t recommend enough.  At any given time, they have about 8 of their own brews on tap as well as a wonderful offering of about 8 other craft brewers.   I’ve had Old 21 on draft their before and I would rate it a solid A.  Unfortunately, the bottle I got had an odd sulfuric smell and I also felt it was just not fermented dry enough to be easily drinkable.  That said, they’re pretty new to bottling their wares and I expect that quality will improve.  If you’re even in the area, stop by the brew pub…you won’t be disappointed.

Another take: Brew Kettle Site | Brew Kettle Tap Room | Ba | Rate Beer

Name: 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Brewery: Anderson Valley

Overall Rating: B+
Style: Imperial India Pale Ale
Serving Style:22oz
ABV: 8.7% ABV

IBU:NA Units

Price: $7.95

Aroma:: A slight hoppiness with strong pineapple/citrus notes combine with a pleasing piney scent.

Appearance: :Relatively clear, beautiful amber’ish hues, good head retension.

Flavor: Upfront, it’s well balanced and smooth with a great blend of hoppiness and citrus fruitiness. The pine notes come in toward the finish as a light bitterness wraps up each taste.

Mouthfeel: medium body, slightly chewy with delicious lingering hop flavors.. leaves a nice coating on your tongue.

Enjoyability: This is a solid Imperial IPA. Probably not a chart topper. Definitely worth checking out if you havent had it before. This is probably my 3rd time trying it and I’ve enjoyed each time.. Not for the amature beer drinker!

Name: Vesuvius

Brewery: Full Sail Brewing
Overall Rating: B
Style: Belgian Golden Ale
Serving Style: 22oz
ABV: 8.2% ABV

IBU:24 Units

Price: $5.95

Aroma: subtle citrus with dominant belgian spices.

Appearance: golden hazey with a nice white head. Good head persistence and good carbonation throughout.

Flavor: Just like its aromas, you can pick out a subtle citrus with nice belgian spices.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, nice dry finish with nice lingering belgian spice flavors.

Enjoyability: Nice hearty beer for being a ‘light’ brew. Reminicent of Victory’s Golden Monkey, I find this brew very easy to drink and would take it over your typica “yellow fizzy” on a hot day… (too bad its cold and rainy outside). There are far too many belgian pales I would prefer, this was was just OKAY in my book. Dont take my word for it, try it for yourself..

Brewery: Bear Valley Brewing

Overall Rating: A
Style: Imperial Russian Stout
Serving Style: 22oz
ABV: 11% ABV

IBU:100+!! Units

Price: $9.95

Aroma: A surprising floral bouquet with hints of chocolate and roasted malts.

Appearance: Beautiful DARK black with creamy tan head..

Flavor: Interesting complex hoppy flavors up front with a nice roasty chocolate flavor at the back end.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, a bit chewy with delicious lingering chocolate flavors.

Enjoyability: This is a very unique IRS (imperial russian stout), intense and complex hop flavors created by 4 different hop varieties (chinook, cascade, warrior, and colombus) balanced by 8 different malt varieties!. A very unique bitterness, rated at over 100+ IBUs but very well balanced by the malts. Great roasty chocolate finish at the end. Not for the amateur beer drinker.. This big beer will keep you coming back for more.

Name: Decadence                       

Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company

Overall Rating:  A +

Style: Old Ale

Serving Style: 750ml Bottle

ABV: 11 %

Price: $ 11.50

Aroma: Deep malty aroma with slight signs that this is indeed a high ABV brew.  Rich fruit smells also fill the nostrils. 

Appearance: Dark reddish look and a thin tan head.  You can still see the light through this brew.

Flavor: Your palette is filled with fruit and malt flavors.  These combined flavors gives the taste a lot of depth.

Mouthfeel: Rich taste and something not found in just any beer.  This one is bold and smooth.

Enjoyability: Becoming a big fan of AleSmith right now.  This brew has a unique taste to it.  It has a strong taste but does not slap you in the face.  I good sipping beer to enjoy anytime.

Another take:

AleSmith

The Beer Spot