A West Coast Double IPA brewed with Idaho 7 (LUPOMAX), Citra (LUPOMAX) and Columbus (LUPOMAX).

Recipe for this post can be found here.

Appearance

This imperial IPA pours about half an inch of creamy white head. It has good retention and leaves plenty of lacing on the inside of the glass. The beer is quite light in color, more of a straw color. It’s not hazy, but it’s also not cystal clear.

Aroma

The aroma from this one can be smelled from a few feet away. Pretty strong pine and resin with a touch of orange and sweetness. While not smelling boozy, the alcohol is apparent in the aroma.

Taste/Mouthfeel

A medium amount of carbonation with a light and crisp finish. The beer coats the inside of your mouth and will likely destroy your palatte for the evening. Sticky and resinous hop oils with a candied orange like finish. There is a hint of alcohol in the finish as well.

Impressions

I don’t brew imperial versions of beers often as 5G is a lot to go through. This being a special occasion, I made an exception. I find this to be really tasty, dangerously so! I had to rush this beer a bit due to scheduling conflicts, so I wasn’t able to cold crash it for as long as I wanted to. That likely accounts for the more hazy appearance.

I’m not sure I would change much about this besides giving it more time to cold crash (likely at least another day). This blend of hops gave it all the qualities I like in a hoppy beer so I’m very pleased with the result.