Leinenkugels Big Eddy Imperial IPA
Bright golden orange color, big citrus hop nose, immediate hop bitter upfront that leads to a nice malt balance and finishes long and dry, made with Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe and Amarillo hops backed by Munich Caramel and Pale Ale malts.
2007 vintage: 9.6% abv (draught only)
2012 vintage: 8.9% and 8.2% abv
2007 vintage: 9.6% abv (draught only)
2012 vintage: 8.9% and 8.2% abv
3.7
284 reviews
Chippewa Falls, United States
Community reviews
Bottle from Big Texas Beer Fest. Light pour with a white head. Aroma is grapefruit, sweet, and grainy. Taste is booze, bitter, and light bread.
Aroma is light, malty, some grapefruit. Appearance is orange, white head. Taste is hoppy, bitter, a sour apple. Mouthfeel is nice, soft, thick, flavor hangs. Overall, much better than expected. Leinenkugel is usually terrible.
12 oz bottle. Bottled on 07.14.14 with an 8.2% ABV. The pour is a darker coppery gold with some good suspended sediment. There isn't much head to speak of and what can be induced fades a little quickly leaving some spotty lace. The aroma is nice and hoppy on the front end with a strong citrus presence in the middle and a lightly malty back end. There is also a touch of pine that seems to grow as the beer warms. The flavor is a little more of a malty bitterness going on, but the hops are definitely present. There is a good citrus body, but it's lacking the dominant hoppiness that the aroma offers. The mouth feel is pretty decent and there is a light carbonation that is pretty good. The aftertaste is a little bitter, but a touch citrusy, and lingeringly bitter. I'm a surprising fan!
Pours hazy and butterscotched brown with a finely bubbled off-white head that fades. Aroma is sweet mango, marmalade and caramel malt. Taste is grapefruit with floral notes on a solid bed of mildly carameled malt. Finish brings in astringent citrus and dryness. Aftertaste is bitter and echoes of alcohol. A finely calibrated classic tasting IIPA. No big surprises. Sweetness of taste is dialed down and subservient to the bitter notes. Pretty well-balanced.
Glowing orange, hazy on the inside. Not much head, but rather a frost that sits atop.
Boozy aroma. Grassy hop aroma, soil-like malts. Touch of paint thinner/lacquer.
The flavor is more booze. Notes of bubblegum and marshmallow, of all things. The hops are very potent, high-alpha stuff. They really have a pungent flavor, with that "onion" hop.
The feel is almost fluffy it’s so thick. I can’t believe this is made in the same place where they make Sunset Wheat! It’s a real beast, one per day is probably enough.
Had a glass on tap at the Horse and Plow in Kohler. Tasty, if run if the mill IIPA.
12 oz. bottle from 4 pak served in tumbler- poured a darkened orange color with tints of copper. Some frog eyes upon the surface with a thin white ring around the glass for a head. Aroma of hops (mostly pine), some caramel, and maple hidden throughout. Hits the mouth with a medium body but with some width, malt is not entirely drowned in caramel and sweetness- although it’s still there, middle has a very nice big hop wave, finish is sticky, cloying, and acidic with an ever slight note of maple that lingers. Very nicely done- thanks for making me miss up north more than I already do.
12oz bottle served in a small tulip glass.
Clear dark amber with a decent head.
Quite mild for style, and even mild for an IPA. For me it has excellent balance. Partially hidden higher ABV seems to be only about 5-6%. Fruity with some grapefruit in the finish and afyertaste but a touch sweet up front. Weak aftertaste for style.
Appearance is deep golden an clean with a small, creamy foam cap that dissipates quickly. Aroma is a strong mix of citrus, pine, grass, pineapple, and rich caramel malt. Taste is a deep rich caramel, giving way to a strong but well balanced hop bite with flavors of pine, grass, and grapefruit. Mouthfeel is medium with a nice creamy body and low carbonation. Finishes very well balanced for a double IPA, with no lingering harsh hop bitterness. Leaves you wanting another drink. Well done.
I just had a short taste of this very good IPA at a beer festival last weekend. I didn’t know about Big Eddy beer by Leinenkugel. I will add to my rating after I have a chance to drink more, which I hope will be soon.
Pours a bright golden color with white head. Citrus, pine, and some floral notes on the nose; follows onto the palate. A nice example of a DIPA.
12oz bottle. A nice version of the DIPA. Fairly tropical and forward on the fruiter side of the malts through. Sweetness all over. Bitter yet covered up quite a bit by the malt and pine. Good stuff.
Sample at Hopfest 2014. Comes golden brown with a nice off-white head. Aroma of citrus, malt, and caramel. Taste is pineapple, grapefruit, malt, pine, and caramel. Nice.
Chestnug red with a half inch of tan head. Aroma is caramel and oxidized malt. Taste is the same with medijm bitterness and very little hop character. More I-red than iipa
[Bottle] Pours copper in color with a small and dense head. Aroma is of grapefruit, boozy honey, pine and some floral notes. Taste is of pine sap, citrus fruits, orange and sweet malts. Very sticky and somewhat syrupy. Lingering vanilla/oak notes in the finish were interesting. Got a fresh bottle straight from a Leinie’s worker, and the hops tasted very fresh and vibrant. Good stuff!
12 oz. bottle. 8.2% ABV. BBD Jul0714. Pours a medium, well retained, off white head, with extensive lacing, over a clear medium amber (SRM 12) body....nose is sweet malts, with hints of toffee/caramel, floral honey tones, light citrus, hints of pine and resin from the hops.....taste is slightly sweet toffee/caramel tones from the malts, cereal tones, the hops give pine, citrus notes, floral hints, light pineapple, becoming moderately bitter on the finish,....mouth feel medium body, slightly sticky, mild alcohol warmth, slight acid on finish, tingling carbonation. This is tilted towards the hops as is appropriate for this style. The malts add back a balancing sweetness and depth, but the hop complexity in both aroma and flavor are the star. I am curious as to the dry hop additions. BJCP 9/3/15/5/7
Beautiful golden brown color, aroma of caramel and citrus, taste of citrus, lots of caramel, somewhat sticky mouth-feel with a medium aftertaste. Alcohol is very balanced and well hidden. Very interesting beer!
Medium-dark golden color. Aroma is of sweet malt and booze, with a little hops. Taste is citrus hops to start, then sweet caramel-like malt, with just a hint of booze. Has a medium body that is light for an IIPA, but I’m not complaining! The bitterness lingers lightly for a decent while. A really good IIPA.
This is a beer snobs beer. Great overwhelming taste of hops and aroma as well. Sweet fruit make this one great.
Leinenkugel’s Big Eddy Imperial IPA 2013 has a very thick, yellowish-colored head, a semi-hazy, deep copper appearance, bubble streams, and some lacing left on the glass. Aroma is of rather intense and full barley malt and especially hop resins. Taste is of that, with caramel, sugar, hop resin, and some bitterness, but one would not guess at an 80 IBU. Mouthfeel is mostly heavy, and Leinenkugel’s Big Eddy Imperial IPA 2013 finishes mostly dry, rich, and sip-able. Overall, this is delightful and so well made. RJT
The aroma is hops - Citrus then a sweetness, caramel. Pours a brown/copper/orange, cloudy with an off white head mostly diminishing, excellent lacing. The taste is medium/light bitter. The body is medium, the texture creamy - just a touch thin, the carbonation lively and the finish a long bitter. A very good beer.
An excellent IIPA. Very nice citrus aroma with a sweet hoppy taste. The sugary honey taste makes this beer stand out.
bottle. For an imperial IPA, this was one of the more underwhelming I’ve had. Just didn’t have a distinct or even unique taste.
Excellent stout, very rich. The color is smashing, the head is like caramel. First sip was boozy but not the second.
Amber colored. Has a light citrus and honey aroma. The hops are light, with a hint of honey sweetness, and the finish is dry. A complex and enjoyable IPA.
FROM NOTES: July 29, ’12
Poured from their 12oz bottle into a Leinenkugal tulip.
A: Sticky. piney and resinous. deeply hoppy aroma backed by a decent amount of sweet, cara malts.
A: Poured a clear, orange-amber with 2 fingers of golden yellow foam, very nice lacing left on the glass.
T: Dark tropical fruit intensity - grapefruit, oranges, and pineapple. Biscuit caramel malt is a little sweet but blends superbly with the hops. Finishes with a pine and grapefruit bitterness that doesn’t last long.
P: Medium to heavy medium body for an IPA. Coats the mouth with fruit rind sweetness and some piney bitternes.
O: While not a higher peak on the IPA mountain, this beer most assuredly is a base camp in preparation for a summit attempt.
From the 12 fl. oz. bottle stamped 07814-B21011337. 2013 vintage. The pour is a medium amber with a quick lasting off-white head. The aroma has a barleywine feel to it with a potent, boozy caramel maltiness but the hops are more in the background behind the malts. The body was full. The flavor has a caramel malty and sweet character. Moderate dry bitterness at the end.
Bottle [12oz]. Pours a slightly hazy deep amber with some orange hues and a spare diminishing fizzy off-white head. Aroma of caramel malt, quite fruity and somewhat sweet, along with resiny hops, grain, toast and alcohol. Flavour is hoppy yes, but also sugary sweet, with brown sugar, caramel malt, alcohol, bready notes, fruit and a long bitter finish. Medium bodied. Pretty good but for a DIPA it’s a bit too sweet, and not hoppy enough for me.
2013 12 oz. bottle from Total Wine - Pours a clear amber color with a small light tan head. Light lacing and carbonation. Aroma is mostly toasted malt and light floral hops. Flavor is sweetened toasted malt, esters, and light floral hops. Finish is kinda sweet with a small amount of bitterness. Medium to full body. To be honest, I’m kinda disappointed with this beer. I guess a fresher bottle would be better
12oz bottle. Pours a clear amber brown color with a thin white head. Smells sweet, malty, resinous, piney, and boozy. The taste is very nice malts at first then the hops kick in with a bitterness that hangs in there with the malty sweetness. Smooth medium body with a little carbonation.