Nelson Imperial IPA

Brewery: Widmer Brothers

Type: Double IPA

Alcohol: 8.6%

Country: USA

Pours a very nice caramel copper color with a minimal white head (probably deserved a better glass). The smell is very nice. A very good balance between caramel malts and floral/citrus hops. The taste is very similar.  A lot of tropical fruit taste in the hops of this beer. Bitter but not overly so, you can pick up the malt a bit but it is more of a background component. It is not nearly as bitter or full bodied as I would normally expect from a DIPA. I guess this is supposed to be a design choice as this beer is supposed to combine the heavy hop taste of a DIPA with the drinkability of a more sessionable IPA. They sort of accomplish this, as it is not as chewy and malty as a normal big double, but it is still very very noticeably a big beer.