Hale's Aftermath Imperial IPA

Strong, smooth, and full of hop flavor.

2012 vintage - 8.4% abv

2013 vintage - 9.5% abv

3.6

178 reviews

Seattle, United States

Community reviews

4.3 Chuhhh Ching! This is supurb! Big mango aroma. This tastes like a mellow Dreadnaught. 8.4%? a little weak for a double ipa, and borders on too sweet, but damn this is tasty. One of the best IPA finds in a year or so. I think it was like $6 a bomber. Not too bad. Rerate. Drank two of these tonight for superbowl. $4.99 for a bomber. A citrus hop bomb. One the most delicious IPA’s i’ve had in years.

3.8 "Summer Warmer", huh? This just hit the shelves at the local QFC. 22 oz. bottle. Head is thin, at first. It eventually dissipates into a wispy head. It has a nice orange and copper color to it. It’s quite pungent, considering that I can smell it even though it’s a couple feet away from my nose. Lots of grapefruit coming through. The citrus hops are very fragrant. A slight booze aroma comes through. This has a pleasant aroma. Pleasant citrus and grapefruit hop flavor. The taste is quite subtle and tame. It’s not exceedingly bitter for no reason. It has a nice, clean, and oily texture. This has a soft carbonation. Imperial? Other than the ABV, I don’t think so. If this were just a regular IPA, I’d be all over it, but I was expecting this to be a bit more robust. However, this does sit on that margin between imperial and not. I’m really liking this brew.

4.2 On tap at Bottleworks, pours orangey amber with a white head. Wonderful aroma of piney hops, caramel malts (just enough to balance), grapefruit and mango. The flavour is no less hoppy, with citrusy hops, balanced perfectly with caramel malts. The palate is fruity and leaves a sweet caramel finish. Delicious - really well-made.

4.2 Sweet juicy pineapple citrus couple with gritty pine. Bright clear copper, thick gummy meringue head. Big sweet burst of gummy sticky hops, lots of pine, and though it calls out the cascade, seems to have a simcoe thing going on. Easy on the palate, fairly light. Too easy. I could drink this all night. But it wouldn’t be a long night. Finishes balanced on the tongue, not too fiercely bitter. Sometimes that’s OK

2.5 Whisky bar, Seattle. Pours out of tap with NO head. Dark amber Coleridge, resinous aftertaste.

2.4 Aftermath Imperial I.P.A--Brewer’s Choice--2003 22 oz. Bottle. 8.40% ABV. (4.5 / 5.0 ) Clear rich amber color. Light lacy head. Rich sweet floral big hop front. Smooth rich creamy sweet caramel malt body with smooth tangy citrus notes. Rich balanced hop spice end. Big mellow smooth hops. Sampled 9/20/2003. Aftermath Imperial I.P.A.--2005 22 oz. Bottle. 8.40% ABV. 80 IBU’s? (4.0 / 5.0) Light lacy head. Clear thin rich bright amber red color. Mild earthy floral hop front. Sweet fruity malty tangy caramel ester young body. Smooth mild hot EtOH mild hop spice citrus end. Barleywine malty. Sampled 8/6/2005. Aftermath Imperial I.P.A.--2006 22 oz. Bottle. 8.40% ABV. 85 IBU’s? (4.5 / 5.0 ) Mild lace head. Clear dark gold color hazes amber orange with bottle conditioned sediment. Mellow rich floral Cascade hop front. Smooth clean bottle conditioned ester caramel grapefruit body. Balanced mild tangy hop spice clean end. Sampled 10/25/2006. Aftermath Imperial IPA--2008 22 oz. Bottle. 8.40% ABV. 75 IBU’s? 4.0 / 5.0) Thick pour. Dense lacy off white head. Bottle conditioned sediment hint. Clear rich amber color. Malty floral hop front. Thick sweet biscuit fruit malt doughy caramel herbal note body. Rich sweet hot mild EtOH hop spice mild bitter clean end. Malty Too Fruity Imperial IPA. Sampled 6/30/2008. $4.99 Each. Aftermath Imperial I.P.A--2009 22 oz. Bottle. 9.50% ABV--100+ IBU’s according to Brewer. (2.5 / 5.0) Thin no lace minimal off white head. Thick sediment. Cloudy bright dark orange color with sediment. Big fruit ester malt hop aroma. Cloying sweet caramel earthy pine resin body Malty hop spice mild hot EtOH cloying end. Totally Out of Whack Imperial IPA. Sampled 10/18/2009. $4.19 Each.

3.4 Pours copper with an off white head. Smells of citrus, some sweet hints, spicy. Tastes sticky and resiny with some sweet hints and a bitter finish.

2.9 Tap at Hudson in Seattle, Amarillo single-hop version What would it take to bugger up Amarillo hops? Hales, apparently. Sticky, heavy, malty, even pushing burnt. Didn’t bother to finish this one.

3.4 Bomber from theisti. Dark orange, pretty classic DIPA in the glass. Smell is as expected - heavy on the grapefruit and resin. Taste is more of the pniey resiny hops with a nice herbaceous component (mint and thyme). Finish is mouth-battering resin and a little too much sweet malt for me. Solid DIPA and a little different, one of those that should be shared. Thanks, Tim.

3.6 Copper color. Nice head. Aroma has notes of caramel malt bread. Smells like foliage fresh bushes w dew on them. Fresh bushes and vegetables w caramel malt and soome floral hops a little citrus pine and pepper. The finish is the best part of the beer. Nice and hoppy. Body is medium to full. Lots of fresh leafy, bushy hops. One of Hales better offerings for sure.

3.6 22 oz bottle from Market of Choice. Pours out orange with a one finger white head and solid lacing. Smell is citrus, mostly grapefruit with a solid caramel malt backing. Flavor much the same, slightly buttery aftertaste, but not unpleasant. The best Hales beer I’ve had so far.

3.6 Weird malty smell quickly erased by sweet malty taste. Very sweet and sticky. Some citrus. Lingering stickiness.

3.4 slightly resinous bitter linger in the mouth. Aroma is highly citrusy hops. Slightly cloudylight orange color.

3.8 Seriously, who designs these bottles? Pours a murky bronze with a mid-sized head. Nose has a big burst of hops - grapefruit, lemon and resiny pine, balanced with some sweet honey malts. This is nice - big, big mouthfeel... bigger than anything I’ve ever had from Hale’s -maybe even a bit too sticky. Velvety smooth, though, with a bitingly acerbic finish. Really nice effort - this is good stuff from a brewery just down the street. Keep it up, Mike & co.!

4.1 On tap at Brouwer’s. Pours hazy orange amber with a nice off-white head. Huge aroma of floral and citrus hops, tropical fruit, cotton candy. Tastes pretty much the same. Full-bodied and smooth with a nice hoppy finish.

3.4 pours a semi-cloudy amber with a medium size off-white head, and good lacing. smell of light grapefruit, some caramel, earth, a touch of citrus, and a touch of pine. taste is thick, grapefruit hops, citrus, a touch of sweet malt, some caramel, and some pine, ends bitter, and dry.

4.3 Tried it at the Concordia Ale House in Portland, Oregon as part of its "Washington Cup 2009" blind taste test. After tasting 10 different beers, it was the one that I voted as best of the bunch and the one that upon first tasting made for a "happy mouth". It was on draught and I didn’t notice the haziness reported by others. It had a very hoppy, flowery aroma, a high in hops taste, but a sweetness to accompany the bitterness of the hops, and had a flowery finish and aftertaste.

3.6 Moderate hops in the aroma. Some sweetness in the aroma, with citrus. Sweet malt flavor, balanced by moderate hops. Cloudy brown color. Good.

3.2 Pours a copper borwn color with a small white head. The aroma shows some citrus and piney hops, but are overpoweered by the caramel malt sweetness. The flavor follows suit with some orange and grapefruit citrus coming through to go with the chewy caramel malt sweetness that seems to overpower. Medium bodied and a touch cloying with not much bitterness on the back end. Decent, but not what I am looking for in a double ipa.

3.6 Courtesy of Skyview. Cloudy copper color with a thin head. Orange aroma and caramel malt. Fairly strong, bitter pine hop taste. Not much malt balancing out the hops, but the bitterness is not actually that overpowering.

3.6 Pours hazy copper – brown with thin off white head. The moderate aroma brings up malts and mild pine hops and citrus hops. The taste has a nice load of sweet late addition citrus hops with notes coming from grapefruit, orange juice and tangelo. Those hop notes are followed up by some pine hop bitterness and a bit of chewy sweet maltiness. Is this a session IIPA? Very drinkable with solid hops but they’re just not all that bitter.

4.0 Received 22-oz bomber via trade with 5000. Pours a semi-hazy caramel amber brew with a creamy off-white head that has excellent retention and lacing. Aroma of grapefruit, iced tea, light caramel, yeast and a touch of white pine. Taste is full bodied, light carbonated with flavors of grapefruit, multi-grain amber and caramel malts, some iced tea and a touch of toffee. Finish is semi-dry and a long lingering bitterness to make this a decent west coast caliper 2X IPA.

3.5 Courtesy of ibrew2or3. Pours orange Aroma, hoppy, yeasty (earthly). Taste, hoppy, light bitter hoppy aftertaste (floral). Sugary, caramel malts. Beer remains sweet, caramely.

3.5 Bottle courtesy of Ibrew2or3. Pours a hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma of citrus hops, caramel, and sweet malt. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Very good.

3.5 A very good DIPA. Good combination of aroma and bittering hops. Full body and creamy mouthfeel. The only negative comment would be chill haze.

3.5 22 oz bottle via Liquid SOl. Pours a semi dirty reddish amber with a large beige head. THe nose is sweet and hoppy and phenolic. a DIPA for sure as the abv is showing itself and the bitterness is here and almost cancels out the sweet...not quite though do this remains almost perfect!!!

4.0 bottle, reddish brown hazy color, off white strong head, the nose has lots of piney grapefruit with a malty base, flavor is sweet caramel malts with good bitter hops, finish is very even and smooth,

3.7 Pours a hazy brownish orange color with a small soapy white head. Aroma of citrus, hops, pine, malt. Flavor is bitter hops, piney resin, grapefruit, malt. Nice oily mouthfeel, but weak carbonation. Finishes a little harsh and unbalanced, but still a respectable double IPA and worth trying.

3.5 Pours a hazy brownish orange from 22 oz bomber. Aroma of grapefruits, wet forrest grass and resins. Flavour full bodies of the same, bitterness strong, hops slam with lovely citrus tones. Daddy wants to cry, pretty good beer.

3.7 Draught @ WABF 2008. Pours a slightly hazy orange color with a small off-white head. Hoppy malty grapefruit aroma. Very malty and hoppy bitter grapefruit flavor. Long malty hoppy bitter finish with a long bitter aftertaste with hints of grapefruit.