Aug 1, 2011

Peak Organic King Crimson

Peak Organic King Crimson photoA big red with loads of hops

It’s recently come to my attention that if you through enough hops into an example of a style (Red Ale in this case) that I wouldn’t normally go for, I tend to like it that much more.

While I’m well aware that Peak Organic wasn’t specifically targeting me with this recipe, King Crimson is certainly one of the hoppier Red Ales I’ve ever had. Dry-hopped with Simcoe hops, the beer comes out at 90 IBU and 9% ABV and very well may make another appearance in my fridge.

Appearance

This Imperial Red pours a brilliant garnet with a slowly dropping light khaki head that resulted in wonderful lace work.

Aroma

Spicy, piny hops dominate the nose as wafts of grapefruit, caramel and toasted malt come and go.

Taste

Loads of the piny, spicy hops are the first to wash over the tongue as the beer transitions through a well balanced bit of sweet, caramel malts and then on to a dry finish with a healthy bit of hop bitterness. The malt presence is fairly solid and maintains its character through the more prevalent hop component. At 9% ABV, the alcohol is hidden quite well, only showing up late in the finish after the beer has had a chance to warm.

Overall

This is one of the hoppier Red Ales I’ve ever had, Imperial or otherwise, and only reinforces my theory that if enough hops are added to the mix, I’ll like just about any style that I’m not normally keen on. This is definitely a hop-head’s Red Ale.

Rating: 3.75/5

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