Highland Imperial Kashmir IPA - Highland Brewing

tdm168

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to jtd1969 for sharing this bottle

A - clear golden orange with a thin, white head that has great retention

S - crystal malt, faint citrus

T - bread, sugary, faint birthday cake, citrus, pine, bitter

M - medium bodied, well carbonated, a bit warm

This is a nice DIPA from Highland. I am partial to a sweeter DIPA that offers that delicious birthday cake-like, sugary sweetness. This one also packs a solid hop punch. It's definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 23:40:43 | More by tdm168

MacQ32

South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a near clear light orange gold with a finger of near white head. Rentention is a little weak, moderate outer ring crawls up the glass a bit, lacing is swell.

S - Sweet (slightly bready) caramel malts, slightly resinous hops, citrus/sweet fruits (grapefruit).

T - Very bitter, hop intensive, dry and resinous up front. Citrusy qualities are detectable but the alcohol definitely dominates. Aftertaste is astringent and slight dry bitterness. Alcohol outweighs any other flavor.

M - Medium bodied, decent carbonation. Somewhat chewy

O - Pretty tasty but the alcohol too dominant relative to the other flavors imo

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 02:41:37 | More by MacQ32

ThickNStout

Georgia

3.7/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle from Hop City (Atlanta, GA). 7.99. No bottling date but this is a pretty recent re-release. Served in a Terrapin goblet.

Pours a clear but faded amber gold with three quarters finger white head which fades to a thin layer and leaves a good deal of lace.

Smells of earthy and floral hops with traces of pine and sweet citrus.

Taste packs a bitter wallop. As in the nose, the flavors seem more floral and earthy bitter hops. Strong bready, sweet malt presence. Pine, citrus rind, burnt caramel and pepper. Very little noticeable alcohol despite an abv topping 10%.

Oily, slick and approaching chewy medium full feel with moderate carbonation. Bitter floral finish with a kiss of booze.

A different take on the imperial IPA. Far better than their standard Kashmir IPA in my opinion but still not what I typically look for. Still, no regrets as a one time purchase of something "just a wee bit different" and I had no problem finishing the whole bomber.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 03:07:50 | More by ThickNStout

johnsonni

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from 22 oz. bottle into duval pint sized tulip

A: Pours a transparent dark orange with about two fingers of off-white head.

S: Smells of warm alcohol up front briefly, followed by scents of citrus/grapefruit, floral scents, mellowed by smells of hops and sweet malt, maybe caramel malt.

T: Upfront you get soft notes of grapefruit and pine, mostly overshadowed by the hops and dominating malt. Finishes with a hard to pin bitterness due to the 6 different hop types and also a somewhat strong boozy aftertaste.

M: Slightly prickly from the carbonation, medium body, somewhat creamy.

O: Overall, this is a pretty good DIPA, especially since its a local brew to me. Nothing I would go extremely out of my way for if it wasn't readily available in your area. If it is, definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 12:57:26 | More by johnsonni

AlexFields

Tennessee

2.89/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.75

Pours a very clear plain amber, large and impressive head but the color is pretty dull.

Nose has a strong and nice malt character, fairly bready, decent hoppiness too with pine and maybe some light fruit and floral notes, this smells pretty sweet and malty overall which usually I hate in an IPA but I enjoy the nose on this for whatever reason.

Taste is pretty unusual--very malty again, lots of bready character, some nice spicy and floral notes, some grassiness maybe, light bitterness. Not aggressively hoppy.

Pretty nice mouthfeel, good carbonation and really creamy feel, some booze though and this is too malty or an IPA to be super drinkable. Pretty thick and chewy feel.

This is okay--not really my type of IPA, I still enjoy it despite it being a malt forward IPA with very little citrus, but at $11 a bottle I won't be buying it again.

5.8/10

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 02:29:30 | More by AlexFields

avalon07

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a bottle to a tulip glass. Had an yellowish color and a clear texture. There was an inch of foamy head that lasted a fair amount of time. Very good lacing.

S: A subtle aroma of hops, malt, and a hint of citrus.

T: Tasted of hops more than anything else (this is a DIPA after all), some malt, a hint of citrus, and a little bit of pine as well. Slightly different than your typical Double IPA flavor, but still worthwhile.

M: A highlly carbonated beer with a somewhat slick finish. Medium-bodied.

O: Not exactly what I expected, but nonetheless a very good beer. On the whole, drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 01:15:13 | More by avalon07

pwoods

Ohio

3.18/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

22oz. brown bomber poured into a snifter. Notes.

A: Pours an attractive bloody amber. Two solid fingers of stiff tight head forms and holds like a champ. good lacing.

S: Spicy hops with a muted citrus backbone. Big, super sweet, chewy malts.

T/M: Bitterness seems muted. So does the citrus. Big sweet malts, chewy and syrupy. closer to a BW. Very juicy but not citrusy. Alcohol is pretty big. Body is thick and chewy with moderate carbonation.

D: Not a favorite. Pretty big ABV.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2009 00:23:47 | More by pwoods

Arbitrator

California

1.78/5  rDev -55.2%
look: 5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Chilled bomber into a glass. 2007 vintage, tried at the end of July 2009. Sent (and recommended) by Uwftke26.

A: Pours a cloudy amber body with orange tones against the light. Has a fairly generous 2 inches of head with pretty good retention, taking between 5-10 minutes to collapse into a lighter cap on top of the brew before I can start drinking. Thick scoops of lace down the sides from the head, and light register marks as I sip.

S: Lots of caramel malts with something of a nutty bent to them, and some barnyard notes (infected?). Grapefruit and herbal hops next. I'm surprised it's still hoppy for something that is two years old.

T: Tilted slightly toward sweet caramel with nuts and molasses, with citrus hops making a play toward the latter half of the taste. It pulls to a resiny finish with a lingering bitterness. It's not bad, but just kind of unimpressive. I really don't think the hops held up well.

M: Medium bodied. Fizzy carbonation, but not enough to clean the resin off, giving it a slightly oily feel. Definitely boozy still, with some heat on exhalation.

D: It was pretty interesting to try, but I couldn't figure out how to respond to this beer. It's not really a great IIPA, and the malts aren't complex enough to make it a good barleywine... Just kind of a muted compromise between both. I'm not sure what I was supposed to get out of this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2009 05:13:45 | More by Arbitrator

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Deuane for bringing me a few of these back from Asheville when they were released. A 22 ounce bomber bottle (my last one) poured into a standard shaker glass. The ale appears a cloudy deep rich apricot color with at least two fingers of pillowy off white head. The foam leaves behind a thin sticky lace in it's wake. Nose and flavor are of sweet caramelized malts, a nice dose of citrus such as grapefruit and lemon, medium toasted bread, earthy, bitter fruits, still quite a bit of alcohol lingering about. The ale falls somewhere between medium and full bodied with adequate carbonation for a DIPA. Drink 'em up.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2009 03:48:04 | More by ClockworkOrange

tmoneyba

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle shared at local BA tasting.

Poured a clear copper color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy tart citrus and earthy aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration.

My expectations where met.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2009 02:27:55 | More by tmoneyba

SLeffler27

New York

3.78/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The tulip glass fills with a big egg-white head that turns rocky as it drops gradually over a cloudy, pale, orange beer with loads of carbonation.

The hop character leads, with grapefruit and mixed herbs followed by molasses, hay and slight barnyard notes. Caramel is a constant undertone throughout.

The flavor of this IPA closely follows its aroma, but is far more balanced than anything called a double should be expected to be. Hops are nicely present in a bitter finish, albeit too quickly.

This one has a medium body with a slick texture and fizzy carbonation. The alcohol is clearly present, yet well under control as this is a real palate cleanser.

Highland's Imperial offering will pair well with company and dinner. Have a second one on a full stomach.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2009 21:24:44 | More by SLeffler27

htomsirveaux

Texas

3.83/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bottle of 2007 version tried 20 Sep 2008. Received in trade from trep (I think, sorry my records are incomplete here).

Poured into a standard shaker glass. Small fizzy cream colored head. Medium carbonation. Cloudy rosy copper color. Aroma is fairly strong, molasses, ethanol, pumpernickel bread, resin and pecan pie are all present. Starts sweet, resiny and quite malty, lots of deep caramel sugar flavors. Alcohol quite noticeable throughout. Seems almost like more of an American barleywine, the hops are present but seem a bit muted, most noticeable in the aftertaste.

Overall a tasty beer. Would like to try a fresher bottle to see if the hops are more upfront.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2009 05:05:43 | More by htomsirveaux

Monkeyknife

Missouri

4.33/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to SaCkErZ9 for this bottle.

Poured from the bottle a cloudy peach color with a very thin off-white of foam.

Aroma is big and malty with a light presence of citrus hops.

The taste has the same maltiness but the hops are much bigger here. Grapefruit and pine hops, along with caramel round out this beer. The 10% alcohol is surprisingly well hidden.

Medium bodied, smooth, and moderately carbonated.

So well-balanced, so drinkable, so tasty! Must pick up more.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2009 03:51:16 | More by Monkeyknife

SaCkErZ9

Florida

3.83/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a pink label adorned 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Very hazy and murky. Light tobacco colored with a small white head.

Aroma is hoppy, malty sweet, and alcoholic. Also citrus fruity and floral. A really strong malt backbone lends itself to the sweet and bready aromas.

Very fruity flavor up front. Almost berry like but really a blood orange and sweetened grapefruit flavor. Significant floral flavors. The alcohol is certainly noticeable and there is a significant malt presence. Actually not very bad at all. I thought it would be more malty but even after a year this one still has a nice hop kick to it.

A little thin on the mouthfeel, if you ask me. Light to medium bodied but still a slickness and oiliness lends an extra oomph. A little too much carbonation as well. I bet this would be great fresh and even as an older bottle, this one held its own. Pretty good overall and worth a shot, I think. NC has some awesome breweries here and I am glad to be part of them.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2009 23:58:59 | More by SaCkErZ9

mnstorm99

Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice cloudy orange with a small white head, but some great lacing.
Aroma is nice sweet hops, with a good caramel floral mix.
Again the taste has a interesting mix of floral hops and caramel malts. Also some biscuit touches in there.
Mouthfeel is full with a very oily sticky residue left on the palate. This is a good and very drinkable DIPA, and I would easily have one every so often.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2008 22:32:08 | More by mnstorm99

brentk56

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance : POurs a cloudy amber color with a nice, tightly bubbled head that sticks around and dots some lace

Smell: Big caramel malty aroma, with hops persisting underneath, even after all this time; still quite boozy, too

Taste: Opens with a huge caramel base that becomes very bitter by mid-palate, with an aspirin-like bitterness; after the swallow, the bitterness fades a bit as the sweetness rebuilds to control the finish

Mouthfeel: Very big and sticky, with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: When this was younger, I objected to the aspirin-like bitterness (I prefer more citrus); with a bit of age, that flavor profile is now taking a back seat to the malt, but it is still there

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2008 03:21:17 | More by brentk56

sholland119

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A-Pours a very murky orange amber with a thin white head and little lacing.

S-Very malty with some hops behind and a hint of something like brown gravy. Weird, not bad but weird.

T-Taste follows the nose with a lot of malt throughout with some hop bitterness in the finish. A little light in the hop character for my liking but not bad.

M-Oily and rich at the same time. Nice.

D-A pleasant sipper but too high in alcohol to have more than one.

HV

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2008 02:01:36 | More by sholland119

AKBelgianBeast

Alaska

3.68/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to khiasmus for this one.

Pours a nice dark brown reddish ruby color with a nice fluffy stark white head that retains well, and leaves good lacing.

Nose is all malt. Some faint hops in here, but nothing massive like one would expect in a big IPA.

Taste follows, but there is some more hops in here than the nose indicated, although not much. Malt profile is enormous. Incredibly sweet. Hop bitterness starts to show up more towards the end, but is still quite faint. I kind of expected this, as this one does have a bit of age on it, but it is still enjoyable.

Mouthfeel is nice, a bit too viscous, but overall pretty good.

Drinkability would be much better if this one still had the hop punch that it may have had at one time. Now it is a bit harder to drink.

OVerall I think this may have been a quality DiPA at one time, but at this point (this review is here solely for those who still have some of this laying around) it has faded quite a bit i think. Unless this one was one hell of a malty IPA to begin with, I would say this one is well past its prime. Still an enjoyable beverage, but it seems to be a shadow of what it once was. A good beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2008 05:30:05 | More by AKBelgianBeast

ncbeermonger

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I love this beer! Darker than the Kashmir, and a little heavier it is a great NC IPA. The head sticks well to the side of the pint. The smell is of immediate hops, and hints of light citrus.
It is a smooth Imperial IPA slightly heavy in feel and drinkable! It is in no way too heavy, but it is heavier than most in the IPA family. It is a very drinkable beer, but I couldn't see myself having more than a couple in one sitting.
When you can find it this is a great NC beer to pick up and enjoy!

Serving type: growler

10-22-2008 05:19:03 | More by ncbeermonger

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle courtesy of BRoss242 as part of Dance/Trance/EDB BIF. Thanks!
Slightly hazy burnt orange colour with a dense, finger high cap of yellow/beige foam. Good head retention with sticky lacing. Hops jumped out at me when I opened the bottle and there was a lot of fruity citrus character at first - grapefruit and orange - plus a little pine. Behind that was a rich caramel aroma. Great balance. From start to finish it walked a fine line between bitterness, citrusy hops, caramel, and alcohol. Sweetness was a combination of fruity and sugary, well short of cloying. Plenty of warmth, no heat. A bit sticky with soft carbonation. Pretty drinkable for a big beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2008 01:31:17 | More by DrJay

orcasteve

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

this one spewed hops from the moment i opened the cap, this was a heavy ipa with a strong "wet" hop flavor that perameated the entire beer, the malt was nice and had an apple cider tipe sour presence. the hops started as nice floral hops and finished as strong piney hops. this is a beer that i must have agan, thank god that my cousan lives about 20 minits from the brewery!

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2008 13:51:03 | More by orcasteve

Oxymoron

Colorado

3.18/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Rocking the Kashmir? Pours a mostly clear amber color with copper highlights. A good pour left a soft white head with good retention and lacing through the entire tasting.

The nose is more along an East Coast IPA. Malty notes come out with grainy and light caramel notes. Some light toasty notes as well. The hops have more of an English feel with a mixture of earthy notes with a floral and rose like aromas. The rose is more of a sweeter hoppy note versus estery. There is some noticeable yeast notes as well. Would have liked more hops on the nose.

The taste is more on par with a US IPA. The malt actually comes out more than the hops. A caramel malt flavor that is boarder line syrupy. Almost has a unattenuated feel. The hops are balanced well. A good zip from the bittering hops. There is a mix between pine and floral for finishing hops that leave a green finish. Noticeable yeast and alcohol notes come out. Some minor esters but really off setting heat.

The body is moderate to full with the underattunation feel to it. Overall a bit distracting with the alcohol coming out. The negative, I would have liked more hops as well and a clear flavor. The positive, a nice blend of hops. More on the "eh" side of IIPA's.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2008 17:27:08 | More by Oxymoron

csmiley

Ohio

4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Many thanks to bross242 for this bottle

A - Pours thick and viscous. Color is a strong combination of amber and orange. The off white head is acceptable and sticks around for a short amount of time. It settles to a very thin cap and leaves a decent amount of lacing.

S - The aroma is big and strong. It starts out with some earthy notes of leaves, dirt, and tobacco. Some fruitiness pushes through with orange and mango. Hints of grapefruit are present as well. The malt base is solid with some caramel present.

T - Strong fruit is at the front. Mostly orange with some grapefruit following close behind. The malt is much more present in the flavor with caramel and biscuit. Some bitter pine show up toward the end. The alcohol is present throughout and comes across as a little strong/hot for this beer.

M - Full bodied with average carbonation. Finish is dry with some sweetness that lingers.

D - Drinkability is good. There is no doubt about a ton of hops being in this beer. The malt base bigger than expected giving some sense of balance to the beer. This one is thick and strong and probably not for the faint at heart. Glad I got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2008 15:55:00 | More by csmiley

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to grub for sharing this one.

Pours a hazy dark golden/orange, thin white head forms, settles to a ring, some lacing. Smell is very malty, toffee, bread pudding, floral, nuts, light pine, some brown sugar, bit of alcohol, not bad. Taste is similar, insanely malty, toffee and brown sugar, pine, grapefruit, sour fruits, some spice, floral, nice bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation, some warmth going down but the alcohol is pretty smooth. Very malty for a DIPA, but solid and drinkable. Thanks Russ!

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2008 21:26:18 | More by Viggo

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

4.53/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Obtained through ipa2xs at DLD08.

Appearance - pours a pleasant iced tea amber color, just a tiny bit of haze in there. A finger of lace sports various bubble sizes and as such doesn't have the longest life. It hangs around for a bit though, long enough to stick plenty of lace on the glass.

Aroma - heavy sweet caramel malts and big juicy, syrupy fruit. Generally a vague fruitiness but orange comes to mind after several deep sniffs.

Taste - big sweet and chewy malts, a faint touch of roast in the earlier sips. 200 pounds of hops in 50 barrels, and they don't exactly wait around to make a statement. Good citrusy flavor, with an ideal amount of malt sweetness to keep them from going medicinal. 10.2%? I don't taste it. There's some fitting abv presence, but nothing to make me think double-digit territory. Grapefruit and general bitterness on the swallow, drying out to the finish. The late aftertaste goes a touch medicinal, but it's mild and not much of a factor.

Mouthfeel - good portions of heaviness and smoothness without going too far. Moderate crispness is a good fit.

Drinkability - IKIPA, a five letter word for 'trouble'. At 10.2 this beer will do you before you know you been done. It ain't right to be this good at this strength. Speaking of which, say Roger, nab me a 1/4bbl for DLD09! ;-)

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2008 03:49:02 | More by brewdlyhooked13