Narragansett Private Stock Imperial IPA
The Narragansett brand has been around for a few years — 122 to be exact. And in celebration this fact and their renewed popularity after its revival in 1995, the company has decided to craft an Imperial IPA that comes in at 122 IBU and 8.6% ABV. The beer is brewed by Rhode Island’s Trinity Brew House and their brewmaster Sean Larkin. The company used a blend of Summit, Northern Brewers, Hallertau, Tettanager, and Sazz hop varieties throughout the brewing process.
The end result is a beer that isn’t overly powerful or overly bitter despite the reported level of IBUs. The flavor profile of this brew is exactly what I would expect from Narragansett. It’s not an over-the-top West Coast example of the style, but instead epitomizes the East Coast style with plenty of earthy hop character.
Appearance
The beer pours a rich, coppersih amber with a dense cap of off-white foam.
Aroma
Pince resin, grapefruit, earthy hop character, pepper and a backing presence of lightly toasted malt fill the nose nicely.
Taste
A solid helping of earthy pine, resin, grapefruit and a spicy hop character arrive as the toasted malt helps to balance out the hop intensity. It’s not overly sweet like many Imperial IPAs, but it is fairly warming (as expected based on ABV). I like the earthy quality of the flavor profile. The crisp carbonation helps to accentuate the moderate-to-high hop bitterness as does the drying finish.
Overall
All in all, Narragansett have themselves a pretty solid Imperial IPA with which to celebrate their 122nd anniversary. It’s not my most favorite brew from them — that would be their surprisingly tasty porter. Here’s to another 122 years.
Rating: 3.75/5
This is a review of a promotional sample from the brewery.
