On Christmas Night, sitting in my parents' kitchen long after the family
went to bed and feeling melancholy, I reached for four things: a fine
single malt, an old blues album, a good novel, and a strong ale. The ale
I chose for my solitary Yuletide vigil was Red Racer Imperial India
Pale Ale, the 9% alcohol, 90 IBU sibling of Surrey, British Columbia's
Central City Brewers + Distillers' excellent Red Racer IPA, and cousin
to the rest of the Red Racer family.
Sold in 650mL
bottles, the Imperial version was clear and honey hued. It poured with a
proud layer of off-white head. It's aroma spoke in a slightly slurred,
liquor-soaked voice, about spicy pine notes and a toasty warm sweetness.
The flavour was equally verbose and equally sauced, though much sweeter
than the nose. According to the label, I was to expect "strong
aromatics of grapefruit, tangerine and mango." This description didn't
entirely square with my experience of the beer, which I found,
underneath the boozy sweetness, to be piney and touch dank. Though, it
should be said that as my glass of ale warmed, I did start to clue in to
some fruitier notes than i initially detected. It finished merrily,
with lingering hops pop.
Red Racer IIPA was a
hearty, full-flavoured ale that delivered on my desires for a strong and
satisfying beer. I found it to be a well made brew with a lot to
compliment. On the other side of the ledger, I must admit that the
sweetness attached to the big percentage wasn't nearly as well cloaked
as I'd have liked and proved a bit distracting. All things considered,
this was a grand ol' ale, and one I'm glad to have brought home. I'd buy
it again in a heartbeat, though only in the fall or winter, because the
sweet heat of this beer would be stifling in the sunnier months.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10.
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