Anderson Valley Double IPA

In honor of their 20th anniversary, Anderson Valley is releasing 22oz bottles of Imperial IPA. Weighing in at 8.7% ABV, and chock full of hoppy goodness, it's a great tribute to one of northern California's best breweries.

The beer should be in stock by the time you read this, but my sales rep was kind enough to drop off a sample bottle yesterday, so for once I can tell you all about it before it's even here. I should have taken a picture or two, but in lieu of any visual evidence you'll just have to use your imagination.

The beer pours a beautiful burnished copper supporting a creamy white head. The aroma practically jumped out of the glass and smacked me in the face with spicy, piney hops notes and a little alcoholic heat. There's definitely some sweet caramel and bready malt character in there somewhere, but this beast is all about the hops. More piney and citrus flavors coat the back of your tongue and a powerfully bitter mix of alpha acids and alcohol will leave your throat tingling with excitement after each sip.

In light of all the recent news regarding hops shortages, I'm starting to view each new Imperial IPA as potentially "the last of it's kind", at least in the near future. Not to say that breweries are going to simply stop making them, but many have scaled back the release of ultra hoppy beers in order to spread out their supply of hops and facilitate the production of the pale ales, ambers, and other "mainline" beers that keep the lights on. With that in mind, grab a couple of these (and maybe some of the fresh Hopsickle we just received), and have yourself a lupulin overdose while you still can.

Bahl Hornin!