!Pliny The Elder!

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Pliny the Elder

• Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Double IPA

• ABV: 8%

• IBU: 100

• Pour Color: A hazy bronze to copper color.

      This pint poured out with a good head and a real hop haze. About two fingers of head that fought the good fight. Eventually i bested it and but each sip left residue of where it had been. The scent off the top was a bouquet of fruit and pine. Pineapple, grapefruit and pine needles all hit you to make a amazing mix! The mix comes through on flavor too. A slight sweetness of the malts try to even it out but the hops are on display. The most amazing part of this beer is the after tones. The echos of citrus peel stay with every follicles in-between sips. Long, Long, Long after each sip! Prost!, Russian River!
      That's right, me, the hop headed mustache, got to swim in a very special bottle of the Pliny elder... I don't know what else to say but AMAZING! This is my unicorn. It took me for a ride and a half. It was just everything I expected and more. Then I hit the bottom of the bottle and now I'll be chasing this beast again. By far the best double IPA I've ever had!

Rating: *****

Odyssey

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Odyssey

• Brewery: SlyFox Brewing Company (Pennsylvania)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.4%

• IBU: 90

• Pour Color: Slightly hazy and orange color

      The head came up and was fluffy. It lasted for a good while as I swam but soon was just lacing down the glass. It's a hazy orange color that light passed thru. The scent off the top was a lot less hops then I would expect. It was more earthy spicy tones to the bouquet then citrus or fruit. Slightly sweet malt scent. The mix of spicy hops, sweet malts, and yeast all have a slight liquorish taste to me or almost a root-beer. Not really my favorite to bathe in.
      This really is a strange double IPA. It's only a 8.4% alcohol beer and is fairly smooth at that level. The scent off of it was fairly boring. The taste profile too was strange and much more malt and yeast then hops. It does give you a nice bitter tone but it's more a biting a orange peel. Another thing that made this beer strange to me. Some will love this beer I guarentee but me... I'm not one of em.

Rating: **

Lagunitas Sucks

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Lagunitas Sucks

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 7.85

• IBU: 63.21

• Pour Color: Gold easily light travels thru!

      The scent off the top is all IPA! Color is just a golden color that is easily seen thru. The scent off the top is a strong pineapple/citrus scent. The head came up and stayed very fluff for most the glass. Lacing from the head was seen the whole way down. The taste is a mix of citrus and grassy hops to me. The malts have a nice backing that really gets nearly drown out by the hops. It seems to try to be ballenced but really has that hop kick you would expect from a IIPA!
      Lagunitas sucks.... Not my experience but I also haven't tasted Brown Shugga before. Maybe not having it really does make them suck. Me though I love the IPA and I love Maximus! IPA's ain't a problem for Lagunitus and this isn't an exception. Delicious, bitter, and all the tastes you'd expect in a IPA. Let the other idiot faces think this beer or Lagunitas sucks you and this mustache know better!

Rating: *****

Third Voyage

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Third Voyage

• Brewery: Sam Adams Brewing Company (Massachusetts)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8%

• IBU: 80

• Pour Color: A nice clear amber color.

      This was a nice fluffy headed beer as it poured. Higher then two fingers the head grew quickly. The scent off the top was that of a nice roasted malt and a nice grassy hop. The color came out a nice see through amber. Tasting it, gives you a nice range of flavor. The malts are a sweet caramel flavored. It also got a nice wheat taste. The hops though are the star of this one. Three different cascade hops give it a strange range most wouldn't expect. You get spicy, fruity, and grassy notes from the hops that all mix for bitter echos after you swallow. A really really good double IPA. 
      This one I was looking forward too. I love cascade hops more then most! That is the hop that really gets me curling. This one chooses to use cascade from 3 different places on earth and really uses them well. I found this beer to be ballenced and fairly smooth for a imperial ale. This perhaps is my new favorite from Sam Adams!

Rating: ****1/2

Whole Hog

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Whole Hog

• Brewery: Stevens Point Brewing Company (Wisconsin)

• Style: Double IPA

• ABV: 8.5%

• IBU: 87

• Pour Color: A nice almost orange color that is quite murky.

      The head was fluffy and about a finger high. It held on the top as a film for the rest of the glass. You can smell the strength of this one off the top of the glass. On top of that is scents of citrus and wheat. I nearly curled on scent alone. The malts are a sweet taste in mouth. The hops are a lemon taste along with a nice grassy taste. It all comes together to leave a tangerine taste in your mouth. You also notice the taste of the alcohol in this. It seems to increase the IBUs beyond whats listed. A decent Imperial IPA really. 
      My first review of a Stevens Point beer. Haven't read a lot about this one, or seen it before this, but really quite good. It's stronger hitting then some and doesn't seem too ballenced but I'm a hop head. The bitter seems to me to be the highlight and not a lot of IPAs come out tasting this clean of fruit. If you like tangerines you get a clean taste of one here. I'll be getting a bath in this one again.

Rating: ***1/2

Hoptimum

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hoptimum

• Brewery:Sierra Nevada brewing company (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 10.4%

• IBU: 100

• Pour Color: A easily seen through orange golden color. 

      This beer has a nice color on pour. Looked to be more carbonated then most. The light passes through the glass easy. The head was small but lasted around the edge of the glass the whole beer. The scent is that of a bouquet of hops. Piney and grassy and somewhat floral too. The taste is bitter and hoppy for sure. It's really a firework display in hops. You get grassy tones, you get citrus tones, then you notice a pine. All of this is backed by a malt that has a super sweet taste that barely competes with so much bitter. An amazing hop summit that no one should pass up.

     If you hate hops then my choice in beers is probably a disappointment. This again will be one of those. This has the hop character of a Hop Stoopid yet a better balance of malts. While Hop Stoopid seems to go for a malt liquor feel this one has the class of a Sierra Nevada beer. Also Hoptimum is offered in 12 ounce bottles while you can only find 22 ounce bottles of Hop Stoopid. Sometimes a mustache can't take a imperial IPA for 22 ounces. All and all I would much rather have this one then most other Imperial IPAs. A great beer and another great hop fest from Sierra Nevada! 

Rating: *****

Deviant Dale's

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Deviant Dale's

• Brewery: Oskar Blues (Colorado)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.0%

• IBU:85

• Pour Color: A bright amber not quite golden but see through

      Deviant comes in the tall boy can delivering the fresh taste you crave. The deviant has a slightly stronger scent to it then Dales Pale. The hops come forward quickly backed by the malts. The head is tall fluffy and thick. Now on taste comes a interesting orange taste to this one. Both sweet and bitter it's got a nice balance. It also has a linger that lasts. All that hoppy goodness echos lowly forever. I don't know if I should curl tighter or droop lower. Deviant may have given me a wedgie and made off with my wax. It was worth it though!
      I think I said this before. Dale's may be the best beer on the market as far as I'm concerned. Deviant has a lot of the things I love about dales. It also has a higher alcohol kick. Dale's easy drink ability still pulls it ahead slightly for me. Still an amazing imperial IPA.

Rating: *****

Outburst

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Outburst

• Brewery: Pyramid (Washington)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8.5%

• IBU:80

• Pour Color: A dark amber color that is see through

      Out the bottle you smell these hops. A nice mix of pine and grass scents off the glass. The color on pour was a dark amber that was easily seen through. On the first splash it's all IPA. Bitter and hoppy who wouldn't love this beer. The nice taste, of a spicy hop, to the grass and pine flavors is great. Not much malt flavor comes through but who really needs that? A really good Imperial IPA and after a taste it echos on each of the follicles.
      Starting to wish I was on the west coast getting some of these guys food too. Pyramid for a long while I didn't see on a shelf and it's reemergence has really made me happy. Hearing that theses guys have a barley wine out soon is really exciting. Great beers that hop heads and wheat heads can get excited about!

Rating: ****1/2

Resin

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Resin
  

• Brewery: Six Points (New York)

• Style:Imperial IPA

• ABV: 9.1%

• IBU: 103

• Pour Color: Transparent red color

      Just seeing the can you know it's something different. The head on the pour was big and fluffy and hung around for a few sips. The smell off the glass is nice and hoppy. You get a floral earthy scent off the glass from the dry hopping. The malts give this one a nice sweet flavor in the mouth. The variety of flavors in the hops is amazing. Floral, citrus and even spicy tones are in this one. Just a huge bouquet of flavors that this mustache really loved.
      This is one of those beers I'm gonna say you need to try! A great beer that any hop head would love. At 9.1% this one could easily leave you stumbling in the four packs they offer it in. This is one of the best all around beers I've been soaked in. What are you waiting for? GO GET ONE NOW!

  

Rating: *****

Hop Wallop

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hop Wallop

• Brewery: Victory Brewerys (Pennsylvania)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV:8.5%

• IBU:

• Pour Color: A nice goldern slightly cloudy color

      Hop Wallop.... Wow..... The pour was that golden color you expect from a lager or a pilsner. The scent though is not that of a lager. I got a heavy scent of hops, off the glass, as the Face lifted it. Then came the splash of hop flavor. Citrus tones and floral tones take over this beer quick and echo long. This one tastes like the hops forever after. As a hop lovin mustache this was paradise really. 
      This is one of my new favorites. The hop combination, with just a slight malt flavor, really works. This one is much easier to drink then the Hop Stoopid or the DogFish 120, but, still has the character of an Imperial IPA. With Prima Pills and Hop Devil also made by victory expect the Face and I to drink and review more Victory!  

  

Rating: ****1/2

Ruination IPA

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Ruination

• Brewery: Stone Brewery (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 7.7%

• IBU:100+ (their websites measurement)

• Pour Color: a light amber, hardly any light gets through

    
      
      A clear citrus nearly floral scent comes off this one. The head dissipated quickly as the Face brought it up to me. As the first splash comes up I realize cascade hops are about to soak me. Sure enough that citrus flavor surrounds me and leaves me wanting more. That fruity bitterness of the bastard is tasted in this one too. A great IPA and a full flavored beer. Definitely another treat for any mustache from stone. Thanks Face, you rule!
     Stone has yet to disappoint me in a beer. Ruination is a hell of a IPA. Slightly like Dogfish head IPA's but all it's own at the same time. Much easier to drink then the dogfish 90 min or 120 and slightly lower in alcohol. This one for being a imperial IPA drinks much more like a IPA. Don't let that fool you though! Even a mustache has to be careful when dealing with Ruination.

Rating: *****

Hop Stoopid

even the picture got stoopid

The Beer Stats:

• Beer Name: Hop Stoopid

• Brewery:Lagunitas brewing company (California)

• Style: Imperial IPA

• ABV: 8%

• IBU:102

• Pour Color: A transparent golden color

      I saw the bottle for Hop Stoopid and went, great Face is gonna try and make me drink malt liquor. I was wrong! This is just a pool of hops. Upon pour you smell the pine scented hops. As it splashes up I'm deep in a see of bitter brew. It's frightening how bitter this is while being fairly easy to drink. The hops give this one a nice pine taste. Ohhh and this one echos that bold flavor long after the swallow is gone too. Another hop chewing section with this one but who can complain?
      I see more and more high ABV wine coolers in the local store then ever. Those nasty drinks that have a 8% label but taste like crap. This is one of the easiest drinking Imperial IPAs I have had. With real flavor and a high ABV it's a good thing I could only get a 22oz bottle. This one you could get into trouble with real quick. After half the bottle i'm glad this wax is holding me up.

Rating: ****1/2