• Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
• Country: USA
• Style: Imperial IPA
• ABV: 8.7 %
• Size: 330 ml
• Bought from: Bierzwerg, 2.79 euro
• Beer Advocate
• RateBeer

I hope everyone has had a good start to the new year! We have finally received some snow here in Southern Finland, but it seems as if it is going to melt away very soon. This evening I though it would be time for the first beer of the new year, and what better than a hoppy Imperial IPA! Have only had one beer by Anderson Valley before, their Hop Ottin’ IPA, and that one was quite nice, so hopefully this one delivers as well. Their Imperial IPA was originally brewed to celebrate Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s 20 year anniversary. Couldn’t find much information on the beer, other than that it’s been brewed with ‘excessive amounts of malt’, and hopped with ’20 separate additions of the finest Pacific Northwest hops’ to an IBU of 100. The large amount of hop additions make this interesting, and I am expecting a complex hop presence in the beer. Let’s see how it does!

[easyreview title=”Anderson Valley Imperial IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a slightly hazy orange-amber color, and a slight off-white head, that collapses as quickly as it is formed. Could have used a better head, but otherwise looks tasty.” cat1rating=”3.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma has hints of both malt and hops, with tones of caramel and honey blending with some citrusy and floral hop tones, that draw from grapefruits, pine, grass and tropical fruits (just slightly). I detect some alcohol, as well as a soapy/spicy off-aroma that I think doesn’t really fit with the other aroma.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins very malt forward, with sweet tones of caramel, butterscotch and honey. The malt flavors are then joined by a floral, fruity and slightly spicy hop flavor, featuring tones of grapefruit, pine, resin, mango, and (black)pepper. Feels as though the hop flavors are a little hidden behind the malt, but they are certainly present, though not as in-your-face as other West Coast Imperial IPAs. The flavor finishes quite dry and with a nice bitter bite. The maltiness balances the hop flavors and bitterness quite well, but I think they take over a bit too much. Otherwise I liked the taste of this beer.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a smooth, oily, medium-full body and a medium carbonation level, giving the beer a quite thick and syrupy mouthfeel. As mentioned, the beer is balanced towards the malty side of the spectrum, but there is still a huge presence of hops.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”A good Imperial IPA, that unfortunately doesn’t really cut it. It is sweeter than most other beers in the style, and the hop flavors seem a bit tucked away. There are still lots of fruity and resiny hop tones, and these combined quite well with the caramel from the malt. Not bad, but probably wouldn’t buy again.”]