Efficient military salutation (with dry Irish stout and Baltic porter tendencies) buries heightened 8% ABV beneath mighty mocha mass. Black patent malts bring cocoa-dried iced coffee bittering and black chocolate creaming to Chinook-hopped black tarring and white pine char without overwhelming sugared oatmeal sweetness. Sour-creamed soy milking and light bourbon latency underscore fine dark ale.
Harmoniously integrating toasted caramel malting and sugar-caked vanilla piquancy into stylish orange-peeled grapefruit and pineapple bittering, succulent Imperial IPA never lets sharp hop astringency or pungently heady 9.2% ABV run wild. Instead, almond-glazed marmalade, red cherry, tangerine and peach tang reinforces juicy citric appeal as well as caramelized honey nut sweetness.
Delectable medium-bodied flagship IPA (in a can) brings lilting spice-fruited tang to pungent hop-grained astringency. Effervescent lemon zest, musky orange oiling and bitter grapefruit rind sedation briskly tingled by Seltzer-like carbolic prickle.
Viable bottled kolsch (a.k.a. Commonwealth Kolsch) segues sweet ‘n sour orange-grapefruit tartness and white-peppered herbal hop pep into sourdough-breaded pilsner malting. Honeyed lemongrass tea flicker and light spicing relegated by orange-rotted lemondrop finish.
Highly recommended limited bottle edition (2015) deserves year-round status. Chewy dark-fruited mocha creaminess intensifies above toasted caramel malting and brown-sugared pecan nuttiness. Gleaming butterscotch-spiced sweetness and cherry brandy wining further bolster candied German-style full body.
Sluggish, though not inconsequential, dry-bodied dark ale needs deeper peat-smoked black patent malting to prevent acrid soy-sauced hop oiling from running rampant over murkily dark-roasted chocolate nuttiness. Bittersweet cocoa-powdered molasses viscosity at midst picks up ashen walnut, cola and Brazil nut splurge.
Aggressive ‘pot luck of seven hop varieties’ creates vibrant floral citrus groove. Sharp grapefruit, pineapple, nectarine, mango and tangerine tang and candied orange tartness ride above creamy caramel malting. In the woodsy distance, sweetly syruped spruce sap contrasts resinous pine bittering.
Promised “Supersonic” hop explosion never comes, but well-integrated Imperial India Pale Ale retains expressive tropical fruiting and mossy earthen dewiness. Lemony grapefruit-orange-pineapple tang and white peach tartness stretch out above middling rye wheat spine. Refreshing celery watering occupies citric hop crisping.
Admirable citra-hopped India Pale Ale in a can brings lively grapefruit-peeled tangerine tang and juicy clementine-pineapple-nectarine-melon licks to light pine tones for conforming mass-appealed medium body. Fresh-cut green grass waft complements tropical citrus fruiting.
Wayward Brit-styled India Pale Ale salutes the First Infantry with Extra Special Bitter-like peated rye dankness and dewy fungi mossing, picking up pleasant mocha-spiced fruiting crosscut by sharp hop astringency. Tertiary whiskey, cocoa and tobacco notions fill out the back end.
Creative Imperial Chocolate Chai Pumpkin Ale allows sweet chai tea influence to top out above sugary cinnamon-toasted pumpkin pie spicing and cocoa-powdered brown chocolate malting. In the midst, creamy vanilla sweetens nutmeg, cardamom, allspice and cumin seasoning to contrast vegetal gourd-squash ripeness. Multifarious flavor profile never feels overcrowded. Instead, there’s no denying the depth and clarity of this rapturous chocolate pumpkin-caked medium-full-bodied autumnal dessert.