Blood Orange Imperial Ale

Bomber courtesy Skippy. Many thanks! Pours golden amber, some floaters, small off-white head. Aroma is caramel, light orange, resin. Flavor is orange, booze, vanilla, caramel, light chocolate. Quite interesting. Tastes like a cordial.

Nice crisp copper and amber coloured body with a smallish, two centimetre tall tan head. Aroma of malt, earth, alcohol, light caster sugar, a hint of caramelised sugars and a touch of oranges perhaps near the very end. Medium-bodied; Noticeable malty flavours at first with toffee and earth along with some sweetness and a bit of a deep, metallic and alcohol-laden flavour that shows some pungency and warmth near the end, with only a tiny bit of citrus noticeable. Aftertaste shows a bit more of the oranges, alcohol and earthiness, but this is relatively well hidden and only showing the malt and alcohol overtly, but the harsher flavours stay moderately hidden throughout and it still doesn’t taste like 9,0%, even though it is a bit warm. Overall, a decent enough beer, that shows much less of a fruit beer than an American Strong Ale, but good to try if it’s cheap, like what I got it for! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Costco in Pentagon City (Arlington), Virginia on 17-April-2017 for US$4,99 sampled at home in Washington on 15-August-2017.

Bottle. Pours a hazy amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty citrus hoppy blood orange aroma. Fruity malty citrus hoppy bitter flavor with hints of caramel. Has a fruity malty citrus hoppy blood orange finish with hints of caramel.

Mild orange nose. Clear copper, medium yellow head, good lace. Creamsicle, honey highlights, orange peel on the back end, but not very bitter. Medium body, easy carbonation, alcohol not insistent. Not bad for a fruit beer.

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but is a recent release. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big blood orange, grapefruit, lemon zest, orange peel, melon, light caramel, brown sugar, and floral earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of bright orange juice/peel, citrus/floral hops, and light-moderate malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big blood orange, grapefruit, lemon zest, orange peel, melon, light caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, and floral/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate citrus peel/floral bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of blood orange, grapefruit, lemon/orange peel, melon, brown sugar, toasted bread, and floral/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Nice complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy orange juice/peel, citrus/floral hops, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness as well. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a smooth and fairly creamy/grainy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is fairly well hidden with a small warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very good imperial fruit beer. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy orange juice/peel, citrus/floral hops, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the ABV. Wish the flavors lived up to the highly juicy and less malty aromas; but it was still very enjoyable all around.

Bomber from Total Wine in Folsom, CA. Pours coppery gold with a white head. Aroma is super citrus - but ripe orange rather than harsh hop. Med + body. Flavor is orange, even zest, with some strong aspects of fresh, sweet orange. Underlying malt note - which interferes a bit with the orange fruit, but it’s acceptable. It has some floral perfume attributes, but orange is in the saddle. Not a trace of heat for me. Really quite different, and a relative pleasure to drink.