Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Beer: Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA
Brewery Location: Boonville, CA
Beer Style: DIPA/Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.7%



Yes, another California DIPA.


This beer pours a very dark amber color with a massive three fingers worth of white head on it and it left small and spotty lacing on the walls of my pint glass. The nose was a little strange. It has the usual players in it including: citrus fruit, slight earthiness, and floral hops, but I also smell a certain medicinal smell as well, and it is almost like what a bottle of asprin smells like. After the beer warmed up a bit I get more caramel malt in the nose than hops. The hops do not seem as prominent as I would have expected when the bottle says they used twenty varieties of hops. The flavor profile starts out with a decent amount of bitterness that is offset by the caramel malt. The hop flavors are again muted in the flavor profile when compared to the malt. I really get just two main flavors, and those are citrus fruit and dry pine. The malt though is really nice with plenty of toffee and caramel sweetness to it, but I think the malt is showcased over the hops here. The mouthfeel is slightly chewy that rendered itself to be quite dry with medium carbonation. The drinkability is decent for what it is, but I am not usually a big fan of malt driven DIPAs.

Overall this beer is just alright. I was neither wowed nor unsatisfied by this offering.

Cheers!
Matt