Alley Kat Brewing Co. Copper Dragon American Double / Imperial IPA at 7.5% ABV | 75+ IBU (C$7.99 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 28-Mar-2017, reviewed 28-Mar-2017)
Appearance: clear medium gold with two fingers of fluffy ivory head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: white grape must, tropical fruit, caramel malt, hint of green onion. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)
So, I’m assuming this is super fresh, since the formal launch isn’t for another two days… though for all that, though, it’s not what I’d call “bright”. It exhibits the standard Nelson Sauvin characteristics of white wine and tropical fruit, but also a hint of green onion, which I don’t recall having encountered before with this hop. On the other hand, I think this is the first example of a single-hop implementation I’ve tried, so maybe that’s a thing with high concentrations of this hop? Good, particularly if you’re a fan of Nelson Sauvin, but just slightly short of great. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
