Suruga Bay Imperial IPA - Baird Brewing Company / Fishmarket Taproom

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Thanks Presario. 360 ml., yellow with one quarter inch white foamy head, lace rings. Pungent hop aromas. A bit of a tongue number, shredder, big IBU. Decently drinkable, a bit of sourness in finish, a tanginess that was fun too.Worth trying. I liked it.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2011 04:38:45 | More by northyorksammy

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Besides the name and brewer (albeit in large type) the majority of the label information is rendered in Kanji...

This beer pours a cloudy medium apricot colour, with one finger of thick soapy off-white head, which leaves some nice mountainous lace around the glass as it melts away. It smells strongly of grapefruit citrus and caramel toffee malt. The taste is consistent with the aroma, with some strong creamy Yankee grapefruit/orange citrus, and a hefty caramel malt backbone. Any extra booze is well obfuscated. The carbonation is a bit stronger than average, the body pretty full in weight, smooth, with a bit of alcohol drying, and it finishes off-dry, the usual suspects battling it out to the end.

An American in Japan, pushing the West Coast way. Sure works for me, except for the cost and the carbon footprint, for indulging in this particular venture...ah, who am I kidding...

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2010 04:20:05 | More by biboergosum

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

360 ml bottle into a tulip glass. Big thanks go to HopDerek for bringing this one back for me from a recent trip to Japan.

Pours an unfiltered looking copper, topped with a finger of eggshell-white head. This retains with a frothy ½ finger, leaving back a rich cascade and tons of heavy spotty froth down the sides of the glass. The aroma smells grassy and bit dank, with a good amount of fresh bitter fruit character being present. Some tight grainy sweetness sits underneath, which a light touch of warmth seems to latch onto.

Those hops bring all of the bitterness here in the taste, with a fresh citric bite and some underlying herbal flavors that weave in and out as well. The sweetness here is all from the grains that are present and while there is enough to balance this, it never comes off as overly sugary either. A gritty pithiness finishes this off with a moderate amount of dryness. The mouthfeel is medium to fuller bodied, with a mostly slickness creaminess to the carbonation but there is just a bit of light crispness present as well. Alcohol provides some minimal warmth.

I don’t know if I’d quite call this an Imperial IPA per se, but this had enough of a well balanced bitter crispness and a decent drinking body to call this a pretty solid feeling take on an American IPA. This was more of a bitter and dry take on the style but I still enjoyed it. Thanks again for the hook-up Derek!

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2011 19:16:42 | More by Kegatron

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.33/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased for me from Slowbeer in Melbourne by @epiclurk. Nice work =)

Pours a hazed and rather still orange colour, with a hint of floating sediment and some languidly forming carbonation. Head is fine, but puffs of pancake bubbles form on the off-white top. Lacing is sudsy but solid. Nice.

Smell takes me back to California. Really pleasant and genuine fresh West Coast hop characters coming through with lovely American freshness. Big citrussy rubbed lemon skin notes, with sweet marmalade and sharp leafy aromas. More subdued than the best examples, but really fresh, bright and stylistic all the same. Top nose.

Palate is also good, stylistically and absolutely. Sharp citric bitterness on the front, which rounds nicely before it crescendoes itself into harshness, mellowing to turned notes of nut and leaf. Barley sugar sweetness on the back. Very nicely balanced, but with a very robust hop bitterness to remind you what it is.

Mouthfeel is smooth and supple, with only minimal carbonation. Sits very pleasantly and softens the palate yet more.

An absolutely cracking IPA. One of the best I've had outside America, and I'd say a good match for most of those as well. Some may argue where the line between IPA and Imperial IPA is drawn, but I don't really care--this is a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 06:36:44 | More by lacqueredmouse

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.98/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours the color of unfiltered apple cider with fairly decent head retention and minimal lacing. Happily, the beer smells better than it looks, with an impressive IPA nose of sandlewood, white pepper, light pine and a hint of sweet malt. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this fairly dry IPA. The beer is well balanced, fairly light on the palate, and very easy to appreciate. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, and drinkability is quite good. I wish it had a bit more flavor, but over all, I thought this a pretty enjoyable IPA (can't really buy this as a DIPA, even in Japan).

Nice beer...

Serving type: on-tap

01-27-2011 21:40:06 | More by johnmichaelsen

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Straw-brown, some yeast haze; white head, ring of retention, light lace.

S: Lemon rind, apricot, candied pineapple and hints of underlying sponge toffee.

T: The hopping is really interesting, with plenty of depth: Lemon rind, steelie grass, apricot, mango, light pepper. There's a pleasant maltiness (biscuit with hints of sponge toffee) without the crystal sweetness. Modest fruity esters (tropical) and a solid bitterness make this a great IPA (though I wouldn't call it an Imperial).

M: Well-attenuated, moderate body has a quality (biscuity) malt feel, with a crisp, dry finish.

D/O: Well crafted and and incredibly easy drinker. Hard to believe the abv is as high as 7.5%. I think this is a really great brew (and I'd mark it significantly higher if it were presented as a single IPA).

Big thanks to Boney for this rarity!

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2011 03:40:32 | More by Derek

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

poured from 12oz bottle into chalice july30 2010

A hazy peachy orange with two fingers of head that had decent retention and left some patches of lace

S big on the grapefruit and caramel some mild pine and it smells sweet for a DIPA

T a little more malt and a little booze I couldn't smell but other then that not far from the smell but toned down just a tad

M pretty thick and a little syrupy and the flavors linger for a while, quite nice

D this was a bit of a surprise for me, I had no idea what to expect from a brewer I'd never had before but this worked quite well for me and I would drink it again with no issues

I've had the chance to try several micro's from Japan and have been surprised by most of them in a good way. I hope these brews keep making it on to the shelves here in Alberta

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2010 22:19:23 | More by wordemupg

dgilks

Australia

3.55/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Big malt aroma with caramel notes. Good earthy hop profile with just a touch of citrus. Moderate pine.

Hazy, amber colour with a big, fluffy off-white head.

Good, balanced hop and malt flavour. For me, the malt is actually a bit too high as I like it to tilt to the hops. I get the honey, grapefruit and pine character expected.

Medium-full body with moderately-low carbonation.

A decent DIPA but it lacks the full-on crazy hop character I expect (and like) in a DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2010 08:37:39 | More by dgilks

laituegonflable

Australia

4.05/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a golden orange colour with lotza carbonation; heaps of bubbles around the glass. Beautiful reverse cascade when poured, head is anl off-whte colour and nicely dense. Quite frothy and webbed out in a spun sugar style as it sinks. Nice indeed.

Smells very tasty; lots of hops, very fruity in character with nice complex citrus - lemon, lime and grapefruit with a touch of under-ripe pineapple and good wood resin notes as well, piney and cedary. Nice toffee malt to balance as well, very good IPA aroma.

Taste is really rather sweet. Lots of that toffee malt on there; quite sweet with a bit of richness and then lots of earthy hop oils on the back. Not a sharp bitterness, but a swelling complexity of floral hopnotes with citrus rind and rosewater for good measure. Woody characters come through late, but it's not dry in that way wood can be, because it's so malty with some syrupy sweetness for balance. Notwithstanding the above it's also quite a mild beer, even though the flavours are big.

Nice and full with lots of texture. It's a bit dry on the back from hop oils but decent enough.

Enjoyable drop, not overblown at all; rather a very nicely constrained bigger beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 04:51:27 | More by laituegonflable

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.93/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours hazy dark amber with a large, fading head.
Nose shows big fruity hops, with lemon, orange blossom, apricot and grapefruit quite noticeable, along with some pine. Underneath is lots of sweet caramel.
Flavours are very malty, lots of caramel and sweet clean malt. Also a lot of resinous pine, but with little of the aforementioned fruit transferring through.
Body is a little too syrupy.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 10:03:28 | More by CrazyDavros

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From a 360 ml brown bottle. Pours out a hazed marmalade hue, 2 fingers of frothy loose-bubbled white head that casually remains.

Bright citrus hops on the nose, musty toasted malt.

Clean light malt up front in the flavour, then it's time for a building avalanche of American hops, tangerine and grapefruit with some spicy pine, and a dry astringent aftertaste.

Medium-full bodied mouthfeel, slick yet grainy texture, good zippy carbonation, a bit soapy on the finish.

A decent contender, if a bit one-dimensional at the same time. A very drinkable IPA, although I question the Imperial listing, it's somewhat tame for that category.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2010 09:10:16 | More by IronDjinn

ADZA

Australia

4.43/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This brew pours a cloudy light apricot hue with beautiful carbonation that leaves behind a one finger creamy head and a rim of lacing,the aroma is basically pine needles,mango,orange zest and some boiled candy,it has a full silky smooth mouthfeel which is nicely carbonated and allows flavours of honey,grapefruit,orange rind,mango and paw paw on the palette followed closely by a caramel,honey fudge bitterness and i dont really need to say it but i will this brew is very drinkable and could drink way more than the one i have here,overall if you have not sampled this fine brew yet i suggest you do cheers.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2010 08:57:45 | More by ADZA

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Interesting take on an Imperial IPA. Cloudy orange with a thin white head.

Lemon-y, sour grassy smell from the hops. Weak bready malts. Weird, sweet-sour malt and hops taste. Not very IPA like - too bitter, and the malts are off. Good hoppiness enough, but the balance is wrong.

Decent carbonation, but a weird taste.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 07:16:08 | More by BDTyre

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance. Pours a clear amber-gold with a finger of thick white head that leaves some nice lacing.

Smell. Big citrus hops with lots of lemon, some roasted grain.

Taste. Tangy citrus, yellow grapefruit rind and a little toasted light grain.

Mouthfeel. Medium body with lower, smooth carbonation.

Overall. Nice hop fix. Tastes good and finishes with a clean bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2011 03:29:21 | More by Rutager

brendan13

Australia

3.6/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Hazy amber coloured beer with a few centimetres of fluffy white head that slowly falls away leaving a bit of lace.
S - Citrus peel & piney hops with some sweet malt character.
T - Like the smell citrus peel and pine hops are up front followed by a sweet maltiness.
M - Medium bodied, slightly cloying and low carbonation.
D - A nice beer but a touch on the sweet side.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 14:04:06 | More by brendan13

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.95/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A 360ml bottle with a BB of March 2013 (in Italian). Purchased from the Brewdog webshop a while back and stored in my garage. The image on the label looks vaguely like chrysanthemums. Weird.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. Bottle conditioned. A hazy orange-amber hue with good carbonation; the fine yeast percolates through the liquid like smoke. Yields a decent head of creamy white foam that hangs around for a few minutes before subsiding to a surface layer. Aroma of intense hop notes: pine, grapefruit, orange peel, citrus. This is underpinned by a sweet, malty backbone with hints of caramel, subtle yeast notes and a hint of booze in the background.

Tastes of aromatic hops, accompanied by sweet malt and a powerful bitter finish. Notes of pine resin, grapefruit, orange peel, citrus, caramel, mild earthy yeast and a hint of stewed hops. A twinge of alcohol lurks in the background, and a spicy, astringent bitterness rounds things off. Mouthfeel is smooth, spicy, tingly and dry, with good body. A tad flat - could be more carbonated. Pretty astringent; dries the palate. Aftertaste of bitter aromatic hops with a hint of malt.

Tasty - an impressive Japanese craft beer. Plenty of aromatic hop character and a solid malt presence as well. Not sure if it's quite intense enough to qualify as a DIPA, but it certainly makes a good IPA. The only minor let-down is the lack of carbonation, which leaves it seeming a bit flaccid. Flavourwise, this is quality stuff - grab one if you have the chance.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 00:03:33 | More by jazzyjeff13

jmarsh123

Indiana

4.01/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thanks to my wonderful gf for bringing this back from her trip to Japan.

Pours murky orange with a small white head that settles into a small pillow with pretty good lacing down the glass.

Aroma features citrus fruits (especially grapefruit) along with some bready caramel malt. Could use a bit more here as the smells are a bit weak.

Lots of juicy citrus up front in the flavor. A considerable bready malt balances the hops. Finishes with a little pine and earthy bitterness. Moderately balanced. Hoppy yet not very bitter.

Medium bodied and smooth carbonation.

Pretty impressive beer. Definitely well balanced, but still has enough of a hop kick to satisfy hopheads.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 20:58:08 | More by jmarsh123

Naerhu

Japan

4.55/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Purchased bottle at Osakaya in Shinjuku station for 500 yen.

Ingredient label reads: Malt, wheat, sugar, hops, sugar

I am very glad that Baird has added this to their year round line up.

A - brownish honey body, white head.
S - bold honey flavor, really spicy hop aroma show off the 90 BUs of hops in the boil and double dry-hopping.
T- grapefruit and caramel in dominate the flavor of this beer. I love the spice hop notes.
M - the bottle conditioning really shows in this smooth nicely bodied brew.
D - This a great beer. I'd love to have this on a daily basis, but at 500 at pop, I guess, I'll only get one on special occasions.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2010 13:13:39 | More by Naerhu

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy golden amber to orange with a foamy. Off-white head that is about a thumbs width tall and reduces to about one centimetre tall.

Lots of hops although not as strong as I have come to expect from DIPA's. Some pine is interlaced through the hops and this is followed by some fruity orange and lemon aromas followed by some light grapefruit notes and a bitter citrus finish.

Pine hops and citrus mixed with some orange and grapefruit. I could also detect some mango in there and the finish is very bitter and full of pine hops again.

Medium, smooth and moderately carbonated with a huge amount of bitterness, although it is a DIPA so that is to be expected. It is a sort of sweet citrus feel to it with some sugar to boot.

A good beer and a nice one for my first Japanese IPA of any sort, it was pleasant to drink although still has to improve considerably to match some of the American IPA's that are out there.

http://abarwithnoname.wordpress.com

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 18:16:46 | More by flyingpig

mulder1010

Australia

3.25/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

360 ML bottle poured into a tulip glass
Thanks to Triple5 for providing the beer in trade. Very nice bonus

A-- Poured a dark honey color. Head started off at two fingers and finally settled down to a little under one finger. Off white colored head. Lots of sticky web like lacing. Good head retention and a well put together head for the beer. Just a little bit of carbonation bubbles at the base of the beer.

S-- Honey, grapefruit, citrus, carmel, and some pine. Honey, grapefruit and the carmel stand out the most.

T-- Once again honey, grapefruit and carmel are the dominant tastes. Pretty decently balanced between the grapefruit and carmel. Both are fairly reserved though. Not an in your face Imperial IPA.

M-- Finishes very dry. The flavor does not last too long in the mouth. That would be the honey. Does not stay in your mouth and leave a real impression like others in this style. Missing that pine feel in the mouth when finishing. Medium to lower end of carbonation

D-- For the money in Australia this is a good version of a DIPA. A little too much honey as it is missing a lot of the pine and aggressive feel that DIPA's have and finishes too dry. Still a good beer and the ABV at 7.5% does creep up at the end but could have 2 easily

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2010 15:48:21 | More by mulder1010

WillCarrera

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Churchkey in DC, poured into a pint glass.

A- Pours a nice hazy golden orange color, topped with a finger of white head, leaves nice lacing.

S- Big fruity citrus aroma, lots of grapefruit and orange, some caramel malt also noticeable in the back.

T- Follows the aroma, the best part of the beer is the incredible juiciness of the citrus flavors, it's packed with juicy, fresh grapefruit and orange flavors. Bitterness is moderate, with pine and grass and a nicely balanced amount of sweet caramel malt.

M- Medium-bodied, creamy feel with a dry, bitter finish.

O- A really nice IPA, easily the finest non-American/English IPA I've tried, and even within the realm of American West Coast IPAs this beer can hold it's own, very tasty stuff.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2012 22:43:50 | More by WillCarrera

spicelab

Australia

3.95/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Been hanging on to this beer for a while, hope I'm not doing it an injustice. With thanks to Chris@Slowbeer.

Murky golden orange, with a finger and a half of sudsy white head. Falls very slowly depositing lace in a lattice network.

Lemon, grapefruit, melons and loads of candied citrus rind. Occasionally detect crazy sweet sherbet notes. Bready and biscuity malts poke through at times, but are largely a bit player. Very nice.

Taste has a good deal more bitterness, yet it doesn't eclipse the candied citrus notes at all, merely provides stark and interesting contrast. Big bitter grapefruit and pine resin face-off against lemon sherbet and candied orange peel. Works really well.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin and metallic. Moderate bitterness on the mid-palate, but otherwise not much presence to speak of.

This is a tasty and intriguing IPA. West-Coast inspired, but with plenty of difference. Big fan of the bitter versus seriously sweet hop profile. Given a more ballsy mouthfeel, I'd easily rate this a lot higher.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2011 07:52:08 | More by spicelab

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance is golden brown in color. Good head and nice lacing on the glass throughout consumption. Mouth feel is solid with healthy carbonation. Aroma is floral hops and sweet. The taste is consistent with the smell with a citrus tang on the back end. For an imperial IPA it is not the strongest or over the top hop flavor but it is nicely balanced.

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2012 03:58:06 | More by Oakenator

juju7

Australia

3.7/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

They're making some decent beers over at Baird. Poured beautifully with great head retention and perfectly even lacing. While the nose doesn't scream hops it does let you know that there is some there. A tight well balanced mouthfeel with a good backbone of bitterness and malt kick. Maybe lacking that little something to make it truly special but it's not a competition is it? Good beer, will be happy to drink again.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2010 09:49:33 | More by juju7

shigg85

Japan

4.45/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is my first review, and i'm going to do reviews my way.
I have a Master's degree, and I know how to use my words!
However, I'm going to leave all of the bucolic transmogrification of hoppy liquids back into paintings of sceneries for the real sommeliers out there. I am typing this as I drink it so you get a play-by-play of my reactions.

I'm drinking this cloudy brew from the tap at Vivo's in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan, sitting at the counter with a building support column in front of me, hiding myself away from the rest of the patrons in the place, with BT's "Memories in a Sea of Forgetfulness" pulsating through my Audio Technica earbuds.

It's a bit thinner than I expect from an Imperial IPA, but Baird never lets down on taste. There is enough spiciness in this beer to make the fronts of my teeth tingle after a swallow... a sensation I quite enjoy. The 7.5% alcohol content instantly hits me in the back of my head in about a 5 o'clock direction. I have the aftertaste of bacon in my mouth, but I haven't had any for months.

I am more than halfway done now, and I can definitely feel the brew warming the upper half of my belly, a quality I appreciate in a beer during the cold Tokyo winter. I think the spiciness and thin texture of this beer combined with the relatively high alcohol content will nicely lead into a pint of Guinness, helping to add onto the roasted yet drinkable quality of that Irish masterpiece.

Two big thumbs up for this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-01-2012 08:56:37 | More by shigg85