Beer #166 - Hop-Head Imperial IPA, Bend Brewing Company - Bend, Oregon

Happy New Year and Happy 2010! My intuition is that this will be a great year, indeed! To start this year, indeed, this decade off right, I thought it good to start with the Hop-Head Imperial IPA from Bend Brewing Company. My beer goals this year are to keep the blog updated more frequently and to brew more! This started last weekend, when my friend Dustin and I brewed up a batch of "Santa's Dilemma Ale" a winter ale with ginger, honey, cinnamon and orange peel. It was my first time brewing a concentrate on the stove top indoors - I'm used to freezing outside while brewing. A few weeks and we'll know how it went.
The Hop-Head won a Bronze medal at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival. It's available in the 22oz bottles and on tap in the late fall at the brewpub.

It pours a golden honey with a decent sized head.

The aroma holds big flowery hops with citrus and earthy tones.

Flower notes give way to an earthy smooth body. Honey smoothness on the tongue also holds citrus tones. Earthy bitterness and alcohol tones arrive late on the back of the tongue.

The aftertaste bounces bitterness around the mouth, but it is cut short by a velvety body - smoothing out with a slight vanilla at the very end.

A great way to kick the year off!

Happy drinking -

20th Anniversary Imperial IPA, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville CA

Well, maybe to celebrate a week away from a landmark day from me (stay tuned, next wednesday will be a special tasting) or maybe to wash down the pizza we had while watching the debate tonight, I decided to tap the Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA - Imperial IPA's are one of my favorite styles, so let's go....

It pours a dark amber with a creamy full head.

The smell is all hop - it has almost a raw hop aroma to it. A hint of that smell you get when you are a few blocks from a brewery. It also has a mild malt smell. It is spicy and flowery, as well.

The taste is bitter (in a good way). It has a medium body and an aggressive hop flavor. There is also some yeast in there, as well. The maltiness does not balance the hop too much, so there is plenty of floral hop flavor to fill the senses. It is not for those who do not enjoy the gift of extreme hop, but if you do or willing to try it out, this is a wonderful example of the Imperial IPA.

The aftertaste is hoppy with a lot of bitterness. It dominates the palate, so beware of what you decide to enjoy along with it.

I found this particular beer at Food Front over here in NW Portland. Anderson Valley beers are available all over, I found them plenty in Boston. I'm not sure how long the 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA will be around, my suggestion is to grab it soon.

Unearthly Imperial IPA, Southern Tier Brewing Company

And now to New York where we will take company with the Southern Tier Brewing Company based in Lakewood. Their Unearthly IPA is advertised as their most aggressive beer yet and being the hop-head that I am, this beer just might slake my need for the bitter....I recently sat down with my friend Kevin to give this brew a try.

It pours a clearish amber with a good head.

The smell is extreme hop - with just slight aroma of honey.

The taste is crisp without too much body. Kevin offered up this suggestion: Ironbar. I'm not sure how often the guy has chewed on iron but I can see his point. Instead of an very flowery taste, it has the copper tones that I've talked about in earlier posts. It is more balanced than I was expecting. It's still extreme, but balances out it the mouth for a lip-smacking aftertaste. We enjoyed it at the picnic table in the yard on a warm afternoon. It is a delicious beer, which is found all over the Northeast. I haven't found it yet on the West coast, but remain hopeful.

The specs are detailed on the Southern Tier Bottles:

11.0%

with:

2-row pale malt

cara-pils malt

red wheat

kettle hops: chinook & cascade

hop back: styrian golding

dry hopped: cascade, centenial & cascade