Pursuit Of Hoppiness - Grand Teton Brewing Co.

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BA SCORE
90
exceptional
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322 Ratings

THE BROS
91
exceptional
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rAvg: 4.01
pDev: 10.22%
Reviews: 172
Hads: 150

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Brewed by:
Grand Teton Brewing Co.

Idaho, United States

Style | ABV
American Amber / Red Ale | 8.50% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (142), on-tap (26), growler (4).

Notes:
Pursuit of Hoppiness Imperial Red Ale is brewed to showcase the brash beauty of American hops: Chinook, Centennial and Columbus at 100 International Bitterness Units (IBU). The hops grown in the United States are considered to be some of the best in the world. Compared to their more traditionally subdued, elegant European counterparts, American hops are bold, bright, piney and zesty. This ale is brewed with Idaho 2-Row malted barley and German specialty malts to provide a rich, slightly caramel flavor and bold reddish color. At 22 degrees Plato starting gravity and about 8.5% alcohol by volume, this thick and warming beer is to be shared and savored.

100 IBU

View: Beers (27) | Reviews (3) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by nhindian:

nhindian

Pennsylvania

4.28/5 rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Provided by dtx00 at a recent, small tasting. Thanks, Sam!

750ml bottle poured into a pint, split 3 ways.

A - Pours a ruby red color with highlights of rustic orange and cherrywood. It grows about 1.5-fingers of head with good retention. It leaves behind some lacing, but nothing incredibly special. The body, however, is beautiful, from the color to the almost crystal-clear transparency that paints everything on the other side a deep crimson.

S - Immediately after pouring, aromas of numerous hops waft up and fill the air. This apparently has reached the fabled 100 IBU mark, which definitely is impressive, especially for a style like amber ales, where very hoppy beers are not typically the norm. The hops here give a robust nose full of spice, earth, and of course lots grapefruit bitterness. Some caramel as well, but obviously not much.

T - I have to say, upon my first sip I was impressed. I've heard snippets about this brewery, but nothing substantial, but this is a great tasting beer. It has the bitter hoppiness like something a double IPA would bring, but also has a more complex base behind it with the malts, which are sweet and even nutty at times. From there, the hops springboard to the front, offering bold, rich flavors across the hop spectrum. The spiciness is something that I found myself liking, especially when complemented with the malts, and the strong pine and grapefruit and other citrus notes are always welcome. Just a tinge of heat in the finish.

M - Mouthfeel is moderately heavy-bodied with okay carbonation. A little bit more carbonation would have hit the sweet-spot, but it's not bad in its current state. Even after a single pour, my mouth and palate were starting to feel that numbness that hops sometime impart.

D/O - Drinkability is high. A complete dark horse for me, but I can't say I wasn't enjoying every last bit of this beer. It was refreshing to get a beer with the strong hop presence, but also with the fortitude to withstand that and balance it with the malt sweetness. I will definitely be keeping Grand Teton on my radar for the future.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2011 02:04:05 | More by nhindian

More User Reviews:

dertyd

California

4/5 rDev -0.2%

05-19-2013 03:20:29 | More by dertyd

NickSMpls

Minnesota

4.5/5 rDev +12.2%

05-19-2013 01:03:26 | More by NickSMpls

GOGRANDE

Colorado

4.25/5 rDev +6%

05-17-2013 04:15:25 | More by GOGRANDE

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.15/5 rDev -21.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12oz bottle, $2.49. I had this once before in a 750ml bottle so I thought I better review it hence the repeat purchase,. The bottling date was fuzzy but it appears to have been bottled in March of this year so its about two months old. Red color, head was fine. Aroma was a muted bit of hops and really smelled like a double amber ale. Flavor was heavy malts like an amber ale with just a bit of fruitiness from the hops. I bet this is great when its a couple weeks old but at two months its really a disappointment. Its not bad but the hops were just not there for teh advertised IBU and the name of the beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 20:29:28 | More by ArrogantB

sevenshubby

California

4.5/5 rDev +12.2%

05-12-2013 02:59:36 | More by sevenshubby

JeltMaaj

Illinois

3.5/5 rDev -12.7%

05-12-2013 00:33:36 | More by JeltMaaj

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3/5 rDev -25.2%

05-08-2013 03:32:15 | More by tommyguz

MeisterMayhem

Colorado

4/5 rDev -0.2%

05-07-2013 19:03:12 | More by MeisterMayhem

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5 rDev -6.5%

05-04-2013 20:37:11 | More by Kelp

Mdog

Minnesota

4.03/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Dark red amber, lots of particles in suspension, big head.

Smell: Citrus, fruitiness underneath.

Taste: Moderate sweetness, toffee, raisins. Mild citrus bitterness, lasting bitter finish.

Overall: This was a tasty beer, if not quite what I was expecting. At 100 IBU I thought it would be much more bitter, however, the hops took a back seat to the malt flavors. The hops did give it a dry finish though. Bottled in March 2013, consumed in May 2013, it shouldn't have lost too much in the way of hop flavor. Still quite good.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 15:34:41 | More by Mdog

LuceScrew

Idaho

5/5 rDev +24.7%

04-27-2013 22:26:15 | More by LuceScrew

zonker17

Illinois

4/5 rDev -0.2%

04-23-2013 00:13:10 | More by zonker17

jreindl

Wisconsin

4/5 rDev -0.2%

04-20-2013 13:26:30 | More by jreindl

GuzzLah

Illinois

3.75/5 rDev -6.5%

04-19-2013 23:03:39 | More by GuzzLah

Ak555667

Illinois

4/5 rDev -0.2%

04-18-2013 14:34:11 | More by Ak555667

TS057

North Dakota

4.5/5 rDev +12.2%

04-17-2013 00:52:55 | More by TS057

Stevedore

Wisconsin

4/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle dated 12/5/2012, poured into a Nonic pint 4/13/2013, review is transcribed from notes from that day.

Aroma: A nice, sickly malty sweet scent, remniscent of caramel and toffee right off the bat with a good bit of hoppy pine and a bit of grapefruit. Not the most pungent ale but it's easy to get the nose here. (4)

Colour: Pours a cloudy, sort of opaque dark copper with a fluffy 2cm white head that dissipates into a thick white film with a medium sized collar. The lacing is beautifully thick and sticks all over the place. A very appetizing and tempting red ale. (4)

Flavour: Given that its 3 months old, this beer is still hoppy as hell with pine dominating with a little bit of citrus in the background; all of this hoppiness is backed up by a sweet caramel toffee malty backbone. It's an extremely well balanced beer, especially compared to IPAs which tend to have more hoppiness compared to malts. The not so cloying sweetness reminds me quite a bit of Nugget Nectar even though the hop profiles are very different. I liked this a lot. (4)

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, resinous and very well carbonated. Aftertaste is an assload of pine and a bit of citrus that definitely showcases the IBUs, and it doesn't go away on its own without washing it down with water. Dang strong hoppy beer, and well-balanced to boot. The finish is a bit drier than I would like, even taking into consideration the hoppy bitterness. (4)

Overall: Nicely done, I think I prefer Nugget Nectar slightly more to this one just because of the difference in hop profiles. Yet this one is hoppy as hell with an awesome malt backbone to back it up. It's seriously well-done and I would definitely recommend. (4)

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 02:41:43 | More by Stevedore