I’mpeach Double IPA

I did a bad goof—I forgot about a 355mL can of I’mpeach Double IPA from Escondido, California and a Richmond, Virginia, brewed by Stone Brewing Co. Now it’s well past its enjoy by date and I’ll not be able to easily replace the stuff (a gift from the gracious and glorious KC). So here’s what I propose: I’m going to do a non-review review—I’ll write about the beer, describe it, but not rate it. Sound fair? I don’t honestly care.

I’mpeach is a boomer, at 8.8% alcohol. It’s a hazy, dull orange grog topped with an off-white toupee of suds. The beer, presumably brewed with peaches or peach purée or some such, has a boozy, sweet, and dank aroma, with definite stone fruit notes. The flavour commences with serious sweetness—it’s malty, and boozy, fruit-forward. The back end has some typical double IPA characteristics: persistent, alcohol-enhanced sweetness and heady bitterness (in this case dank and resinous). However, through it all there are peach notes to spare—and not peach the way you’re thinking, either. It’s the heavy, rum-soaked peach slice at the bottom of last night’s cocktail—a peach that has seen some shit.

Despite my faux pas of over-aging this ale, I actually really enjoyed it. It was a burly brew that was buoyed by its association with peaches gone mad. Were I assigning a rating, this beer’d have done well, despite the fact that I’d likely not snap the top on a second can in the same evening if you paid me.