Baird ‘suruga bay’ imperial IPA

Rating:

image“This extraordinarily complex yet balanced Double IPA is dry-hopped twice with whole flower cones and then krausened at packaging. The hop character (bitterness, flavor, aroma) is profound – vast and impactful like our local Suruga Bay is deep and magnificent”.

Straight from Japan, this IPA is nice and pungent on the nose with all those floral pine and grapefruit aromas. Typical light copper in colour and pours a big frothy head which retains well. Plenty of carbonation. Has good lacing on the glass. Can really taste the booze in this despite only being 7.5%. We also get that feeling that rye malt features a bit, we detect a delicious spiciness on the tongue. It’s a smooth drop this despite the floral hops, and given its an imperial (which we are questioning, as to be an imperial it would normally have to be 8% ABV or higher), you get this fresh lasting bitterness on the rear-palate. Reminds me of a softer version of the 8 wired hopwired or the Sierra Nevada torpedo. Nothing mind blowing but another good beer from an emerging Japanese microbrewery.