Bottleworks Imagination Series 8th Anniversary Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Purchased at Bottleworks April 2007, Sampled November 2007
Pours with a fat two-finger thick, reasonably tightly beaded, caramelized, tan colored head that sits atop an opaque, blackened amber colored brew. It is dark enough that I didn't think I would be able to see through it at all, but when held up directly to the light it shows a gemstone-like clarity and a concentrated ruby-red color. AS the head recedes it leaves a touch of a layered lacing pattern on the sides of the glass. Rich and malty smelling, somehow it reminds me of a sweetened, preserved, holiday spice cake (though light on the spices). The spice notes, in particular that of candied orange peel, must surely be contributed by the hop character, which is actually still quite noticeable. The hops must have almost been pungent when this was fresh. Aromas of pine, marmalade, grapefruit zest, lychee and even a herbal note are all noticeable. It is interesting though, because this is so malty, and because it is supposed to be a Scotch Ale, I almost didn't recognize the hoppiness at first. Underneath the hop character is a slightly burnt malt character, some deeply caramelized notes, some concentrated fruit notes (raisins and dried berries), brown sugar glazed biscuits.

Rich tasting, definitely sweet, but flavorful enough that it is not cloying. Wow, this is clearly a slow sipping brew; really thick and chewy, chock full of flavor and complexity. Malt flavors run the gamut from chalky malt, muted black coffee, rich toffee, toasted grain, browned soda crackers and biscuit malt character. Once again, I almost missed perhaps the biggest component here, which is the hops. Pungently hoppy, despite all of the malt; flavors of orange marmalade, bergamot, pine, menthol and a sharp herbal character. Really though the hop flavors are focused on a pungently aggressive, yet smoothly fruity, citrus oil character. The beer finishes with a lingering citrus character, a sometimes sharp (though never really aggressive) bitterness and a clinging sweet maltiness. Somehow the hop character seems to hide the alcohol flavors, there is a bit of warming in the finish that you can feel radiating from my throat to my belly (yes, that is indeed a happy feeling).

I would almost characterize this as a much bigger brother of an Arrogant Bastard type of beer. It is perhaps not quite so hop focused, but it is close enough that the description is apt. This is certainly a long way from the BJCP guidelines; it is in fact an absolute failure as a Strong Scotch Ale, but is a very tasty example of a strong, malty, quite hoppy American Strong Ale. I am certainly enjoying this beer as a slow sipping night cap for the evening and night. My one complaint is that the hop character is so pronounced that it is sometimes hard to pick out the substantial malt flavors at times. It is definitely interesting how the style designation of this brew makes many people (even I missed it at first) miss that this beer is so aggressively hoppy. Somehow this beer makes me think of something that is a mix of a citrus cordial, brandy and a rich, smooth, single malt Scotch.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

NorCal tasting June '07 - Interesting beer. While I loved Flyers Sick Duck Imperial Stout, this beer was a few notches below the quality of that beer. Aroma was soapy, a bit smokey, caramel and alcohol also show up. Pours out a dark reddish/brown color, nice head and decent lacing. Taste is sweet malts, caramel, subtle smoke, spices, dark fruits with a bit of alcohol showing up. Nice beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

This poured a dark brown color. The aroma is nutty with some caramel and chocolate as well. Some alcohol can be detected with chocolate and nutmeg flavors. A very enjoyable and warming beer.