So, enough with the part I'm sure most readers skip over (although, no idea, as I've not actually talked to the readers to see which parts they focus on), and onto the review. We've had this before in previous seasons, and there's a reason we keep going back to this. This is a 9.1% ABV, 72 IBU monster from the Cleveland area named after Lake Erie's version of Nessy (the Loch Ness Monster). This pours a golden amber with decent white head, perfectly clear with moderate looking carbonation. The aroma is faint, but piney with some Grapenuts sort of smell toward the back, nice and balanced aroma. The flavor is more malty than I'd expect from an Imperial IPA. There's some tropical fruit flavors up front (mango and pineapple), that lead to the Grapenuts sort of malt flavoring, then ending in a piney tone with some bitterness that lingers for a bit. Kind of disappointing when comparing this to the last two Imperial IPA releases from Great Lakes, but taking this as a solo release and not making comparisons, a decent IIPA. Light drinking, despite the 9.1% ABV, with the mouthfeel being sweet with a hint of resin stickiness. This lacks the hops that I personally love in my IPA, let alone what should be in an IIPA. Shit, my beer is gone. Huh, apparently it's a little too smooth drinking. Time to pass the torch to my flame in the household (No, I don't mean that in a sappy way, I mean that in a 'shit, she set the house on fire because she saw a spider' sort of way). Before I depart, and start painting, I would like to remind you to follow us on Facebook.
4.3/5 caps
-Nathan-
Yes, I would totally burn down the house to kill a spider. I'm arachnophobic like that (and trust me when I tell you that is a complete understatement). I've learned to accept it, so should Nathan, don't you think? Onto happier topics... like beer! This beer! I love Lake Erie Monster! We actually used a clone of this brew to make our ShuteyePA, which was an IPA with lavender and chamomile. It was lovely, and I want to brew it again soon.
Nathan hit it on the head... who put juniper berries in my Grape-Nuts? Alternatively, who put Grape-Nuts in my juniper berries? That is precisely what this smells like. And his description of the flavor was spot-on, too. For some reason, I find this a little more mellow in the hop flavors than in years past. The lovely tropical fruits are there, and wait... is my palate just wrecked from the Smitten? Apparently not. I even cleansed my palate with a couple of Dill Triscuits, because those are my favorite cracker. Like ever. There's something completely lacking in the taste that was there in years prior, that certain je ne sais quoi that made this previously stellar. It's faintly there in the nose, but lacking completely in the taste. I think I have it... the aroma smells like ruby red grapefruit, which does not translate at all in the taste this year. And in the flavor, it's pretty much all pineapple. Don't get me wrong, I love pineapple, but I miss the ruby red notes in there. It had such a disctinctive flavor before, and it seems like maybe they used all the hops on Alchemy Hour and Rye Of The Tiger. Damn, I have Survivor stuck in my head again.
Sigh. I hate when seasonal beers are not as good as last year.
You can follow us on Twitter, too, if you don't already... I'm just more proficient at Facebook, and I publish and share a lot more on Facebook than Twitter. I miss the good old days of FB where you could push your post to Twitter. Apparently it doesn't work that way anymore.
4.3/5 caps
-Jennie
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