As I am familiar with some of their other brews, expectations would be reasonably high from the start here. Adding to that, the fact that this is an Imperial IPA from the brewery’s Barrel aged-series, stakes are dangerously high… First off; the label design is cool. There is a tipsy reaper lurking beneath the beer bottle, all barely visible in this dark artwork. So, let’s get down to the real deal, shall we? A fine, smooth golden look, pouring equally esthetic head in the tulip glass- just a tad mirky… Like watching a still flame. Nose is an incredible blend of hops, resulting in foresty smells, including flowers, spruce and almost caramelish notes of sweetness. I’m incredibly eager to drink this! When the first drop comes in contact with the tongue, there’s maturity fusing with an incredible bitterness, vanilla hints comes into play in the background. It’s quite strong, as one would expect from an imperial IPA to be. Still, very very nice balance of each of the elements featured. The taste lasts for an eternity, like a dark long catacomb from here to the underworld. Pretty astonishing stuff, as I thought.

(Photo: M. Brochs)