7.1/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
From Apr 2008
I got this in a trade with nutbrown. Thanks Alan!
This pours a hazy amber with a very nice 2 finger head of foam. Very good head retention and there's some nice sticky lacing.
The smell has a nice floral/fruity hop *and* caramel malt thing going on and is pretty nice.
The taste is big grapefruit notes up front but there's no lack of malt here as I'm getting an equally big dose of bready malt that hits my taste buds nicely. There's another fruity flavour I'm getting here and...yes...I cheated. Buckeyenation is spot on with the tangerine reference even though I rarely eat tangerines but I *have* done so in the past and they are definitely there.
Nice thickish mouthfeel here and the carbonation is pretty light despite what you see when you hold up your glass to the light... lots of tiny bubbles. I really like how the malt and hops are so well balanced in this brew..even in the finish! Re the abv, I think it is very well hidden; just a bit of warming some time after the swallow.
Bottom line: This is a well crafted and pretty darned drinkable Imperial IPA from Carolina Brewing and I'm very happy I got to try it. Thanks again, Alan!!
I got this in a trade with nutbrown. Thanks Alan!
This pours a hazy amber with a very nice 2 finger head of foam. Very good head retention and there's some nice sticky lacing.
The smell has a nice floral/fruity hop *and* caramel malt thing going on and is pretty nice.
The taste is big grapefruit notes up front but there's no lack of malt here as I'm getting an equally big dose of bready malt that hits my taste buds nicely. There's another fruity flavour I'm getting here and...yes...I cheated. Buckeyenation is spot on with the tangerine reference even though I rarely eat tangerines but I *have* done so in the past and they are definitely there.
Nice thickish mouthfeel here and the carbonation is pretty light despite what you see when you hold up your glass to the light... lots of tiny bubbles. I really like how the malt and hops are so well balanced in this brew..even in the finish! Re the abv, I think it is very well hidden; just a bit of warming some time after the swallow.
Bottom line: This is a well crafted and pretty darned drinkable Imperial IPA from Carolina Brewing and I'm very happy I got to try it. Thanks again, Alan!!
Tried
on 09 Nov 2017
at 09:19
8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
From Aug 2007
I got this one in a trade with brentk56. Thanks, Brent!
It poured from 12oz bottle(bottled 01/24/07) a very dark brown with a small tannish head of foam that reduces quickly to just a few islands near the middle of my glass and lacing is minimal.
The smell is surely noseworthy. Big chocolate, caramel malt, dark fruit, and rum are there and are there in abundance. Very very nice.
The taste is huge! Bitter chocolate is the first thing I noticed but there's a lot of vanilla, roasted malt, coffee, rum, wow..complex as all heck and the flavous work so well together that I found myself shaking my head. It's pretty big alcohol wise at 8.5% but it's hidden very well other than some slight warming with the swallow.
It has a silky smooth mouthfeel, the carbo is nice and light, and the finish of this splendid RIS is pleasingly bitter witha nice long aftertaste.
Man, if you can get a hold of a bottle or 2 of this, by all means do so. Your effort will be more than rewarding...
I got this one in a trade with brentk56. Thanks, Brent!
It poured from 12oz bottle(bottled 01/24/07) a very dark brown with a small tannish head of foam that reduces quickly to just a few islands near the middle of my glass and lacing is minimal.
The smell is surely noseworthy. Big chocolate, caramel malt, dark fruit, and rum are there and are there in abundance. Very very nice.
The taste is huge! Bitter chocolate is the first thing I noticed but there's a lot of vanilla, roasted malt, coffee, rum, wow..complex as all heck and the flavous work so well together that I found myself shaking my head. It's pretty big alcohol wise at 8.5% but it's hidden very well other than some slight warming with the swallow.
It has a silky smooth mouthfeel, the carbo is nice and light, and the finish of this splendid RIS is pleasingly bitter witha nice long aftertaste.
Man, if you can get a hold of a bottle or 2 of this, by all means do so. Your effort will be more than rewarding...
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Oct 2017
at 12:07
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
From May 2007
This pours from 12oz bottle(bottled on 06/28/06) a very cloudy peach colour with a huge head of foam. After a few minutes, it settles down to a solid layer with lots of sticky lacing.
The smell is complex. I'm getting a lot of caramel malt, citrus hoppiness, and spice.
The taste on first sip has caramel malt up front with a huge hop bitterness that catches up and takes control. As I swish it in my mouth, I get an intensification of the caramel along with a big burst of floral hoppiness and those 2 working together almost overwhelm my palate but...in a good way. Very nice sipper and sip I must. The alcohol, though not intrusive for the style, is definitely there and since there's about 6" of snow on the ground right now, it's also most welcome.
Further sips in and I begin to notice the citrus, mainly grapefruit and some lemon, and it reaches its high point mostly near and through the finish. Long lingering aftertaste there. Good stuff.
Bottom line: This DIPA is, pretty much, nothing like any other I've tried so far but being different, in this case, translates to very tasty
and something that is worth seeking out.
Thanks go out to brentk56 for including this one in our trade!
This pours from 12oz bottle(bottled on 06/28/06) a very cloudy peach colour with a huge head of foam. After a few minutes, it settles down to a solid layer with lots of sticky lacing.
The smell is complex. I'm getting a lot of caramel malt, citrus hoppiness, and spice.
The taste on first sip has caramel malt up front with a huge hop bitterness that catches up and takes control. As I swish it in my mouth, I get an intensification of the caramel along with a big burst of floral hoppiness and those 2 working together almost overwhelm my palate but...in a good way. Very nice sipper and sip I must. The alcohol, though not intrusive for the style, is definitely there and since there's about 6" of snow on the ground right now, it's also most welcome.
Further sips in and I begin to notice the citrus, mainly grapefruit and some lemon, and it reaches its high point mostly near and through the finish. Long lingering aftertaste there. Good stuff.
Bottom line: This DIPA is, pretty much, nothing like any other I've tried so far but being different, in this case, translates to very tasty
and something that is worth seeking out.
Thanks go out to brentk56 for including this one in our trade!
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Oct 2017
at 09:09
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
6 week old bottle > tulip A: Poured a clear rich medium gold with short fast falling head, leaving a ring and some lace. S: Bready aroma with leafy or grassy hop notes. T: Crisp bitterness well balanced by mildly sweet caramel and toast. Not overly bitter nor sweet. M: Light and crisply carbonated, finishing slightly sweet and resinous. O: Good easy drinking fresh local ale. No world beater but you can do a lot worse. Good value too means worth buying.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Sep 2017
at 16:45
6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5
No idea which Wiggo I drank, not marked on the menu and staff didn’t know. Draft at Mac’s Speed Shop. Clear deep amber color, off white head. Caramel aroma with light pine. Taste is resiny toasted caramel.
Tried
from Draft
on 18 Apr 2017
at 07:28
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
From tap. Pours slight hazy orange with a small off white head. Aroma is peachy and slight grapfruity. Pine, herbal hoppy. Dry, bitter and herbal. Pine hoppy finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 17 Apr 2017
at 15:09
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle from Total Wine. Dark brown color, medium tan head. Roasty aroma. Taste is moderately bitter coffee grounds and light pine. Not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Jan 2017
at 18:33
6.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6
Dark brown color, scant tan head. Huge coffee aroma, some chocolate. taste is bitter coffee, bitter cocoa, dry finish. Light body. OK.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Dec 2016
at 14:59
7.3/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Draft. Clear golden amber color, medium white head. Aroma of citrus and tropical fruit. Taste is lightly bitter fruit. Decent.
Tried
from Draft
on 07 Dec 2016
at 20:04
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
12 oz bottle courtesy of a friend, thanks Mike! Bottled on 12/2/2015. Newer label design simply listed as Brown Ale. Clear amber with a sliver of beige head. Aromas of caramel, toffee, roasted nuts, a little cocoa. Tastes of cocoa, caramel, toffee, nutty notes, subtle roast. Medium body with a semi-dry finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jun 2016
at 19:35