ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA
Don’t be fooled by the label depicting a Grim Reaper Santa Claus in a sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer - this is not a Christmas Ale. "Sleighor" is an Imperial India Pale Ale. The intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma will dominate at first. To complement, the body has a complex blend of malt and alcohol flavors. The ABV is 9.1%, and the IBU’s are pushing the mid 80s. The entire family of Cascade hops is used. Cascade, Centennial and Columbus are spread throughout the boil, and a huge sack of Amarillo for dry hopping. The hop combination gives this brew a distinct profile true to its IPA roots. The presentation is clear copper with a thick tan head, coupled with billowing citrus and floral hop aroma. "Do You Dare" to enjoy this fine ale from the Reaper? Brewed at Sudwerk for ReaperAle.
3.6
318 reviews
Lake Elsinore, United States
Community reviews
A: The pour is a rich copper color with two fingers of white foam that quickly dissipates. Sadly, this is the best feature of the beer.
S: Some slight pine to the aroma and quite a bit of malt. Disappointingly mild citrus.
T: Much more malty than I would have hoped for/expected (more along the lines of a barleywine). I don’t often use this descriptor, but it’s very earthy--like dirt.
M: The body is medium but the carbonation is somewhat low.
D: This is another drain pour for me, I just couldn’t get overly the incredibly earthy taste of this beer.
A caramel color beer with a nice head. The aroma is sweet. The taste is sweet up front with the bitterness coming in the last half preventing any sweetness at the end of the taste. There was virtually no hop aromas in this or much in the taste department which made it taste like a barleywine. Note- this beer was sampled in Texas & most likely by the time it hit the shelves had lost almost all of it’s hoppiness.
Bottle from Cavie. Lots of head. Aroma is sweet with hops, alcohol, a little caramel and butter. Taste is kinda mild but mostly sweet hops. A little alcohol on the finish.
Hazy amber pour with quite a healthy off-white head. Smell is of sweet and strong hops. Strength is noteable on the nose. Taste is very sticky indeed. Taste is sweet hops with a bit of a tart kick. Dry finish. Very dry.
Reviewed 12/4/2009 (bottle):
Pours a clear golden red brown color body, with a big frothy whitish color head, lasting. Very hoppy aroma, lots of citrus and dryness. Grapefruit, some pine but more sweet grapefruit than dry pine. Pine and citrus flavor, nuttiness. Very balanced, very tasty. Some dryness and grapefruitiness too. Somewhat watery, dry. Not too complex, but satisfying, very pale aleish with some hoppiness, but not much bitterness. Easily hides the 9.1% ABV.
Pours a copper brown with a tan head. Big coniferous aroma which leads one to expect a bigger hop punch than it delivers. Very malty, with toffee, citrus, and more alcohol than hop bite.
Hey Look at Me! i have lots of extra money and a mr beer kit, now i’ve read that IIPA’s are popular, i’m going to brew an IIPA, give it a wicked name and sell it.. oh but wait, it fuckin sucks and is starting to turn after only weeks on the shelf. haha, fuck you you bought it anyways... -ReaperAle’s Brewmaster
Secret Santa 09. Pours a murky brownish orange with a dense and sticky white head. The nose reminds be of a candy dish with candied oranges and toffee candies. Big sticky wet hops. The flavor is quite a bit more on the pine side of the house. Abrasive hops with a good bready finish. Medium body and somewhat slick and oily. Tasty stuff.
Very cloudy amber ale that pours with a generous 2 inch taupe head. Malty aroma with an English character. Superb lacing. Super smooth taste. Nice flavorful hop bouquet. This ale could be very problematic, as it is entirely t easy to drink. Full bodied character without being to heavy. Makes a nice meal replacement. Finishes so smooth you forgot it.
Hazy amber color; creamy head. It has a resiny hop aroma, not too strong, actually much less than most IPAs. The caramel and toffee flavor is quite chewy, it has surly a strong bitterness, quite resiny, but also a bit dusty. It’s powerful, but there is nothing impressive here, the hop doesn’t give the necessary quality.
my bottle bought in Chi town, nose is nice hops some malt but kinda muted. pours an amber color, some head but nasty metallic flavor overpowers anything
22oz bomber from green’s in columbia. pours a hazy, darker orange-cooper with a thin, off-white head and solid lacing. aroma is pretty nice with typical dipa citrus hop scents of orange and grapefruit with light floral and earthy notes and a touch of sweet caramel malts. flavor is a bit underwhelming with mostly citrus hop notes of white grapefruit and lemon with hints of tea leaves, raisin, and toffee malts on the back end. palate is medium bodied and maybe a bit thin with decent carbonation and a mild bitter finish. overall, decent but underwhelming brew.
(... wow... big changes to the RateBeer rating system, and I like the fact that I can’t scroll down to be influenced by other ratings... but I digress.) Light-hazed copper-colored body, moderately carbonated beneath an everlasting head of creamy ecru suds and froth. Aroma shows more balance than I was bracing myself for, procuring overshelved caramel/taffy before a fresh-squeezed grapefruit and a pinecone tossed into a sinkful of lemon dishwater. Mostly underwhelming flavor has a heavy dose of grapefruit, a touch of tea and a big hit of alcohol, but this doesn’t burn my tastebuds as DIPA’s normally do. Sourness and a touch of phlegminess lingers on the palate. I’m feeling that the "intensity" here is due more to the alcohol than the hops. Would I call this sessionable? Possibly. I easily finished a bomber myself and continued on... albeit with a slight stagger. Buy it again? No. Sweet name and label, love that Reaper pushes the envelope in that regard! ~~~~~~~~~~~ Consumed 12/01/2009, purchased approx Sept. 2009 @ Kenwood Liquors, Homer Glen, IL.
The aroma was not dominate and rather mild when I poured this one into a glass. A bit of yeast and malt. A hint of alcohol. Pretty reddish amber, very clear with a lacing, lasting head. Flavor is nicely balanced with a sweet start and a nice bitter finish. A delicate smokiness is in there as well. The smoke is in the finish and lingers in the after taste. Pretty good.
Intense hops aroma. Heavy mouthfeel. Very bitter finish that gets more bitter quickly. Intense flavor. Not enough malt to counter the bitter hops. I don’t like sweet IPAs but this one needs more balance.
Jon’s bottle looked great with cloudy grapefuit and good white head, it smelled very nice hops, bit it was weak taste, like sat in sunshine for at least a year.
In the bomber bottle from Whole Foods Oak Park IL. Exactly like it promises: a DIPA and nothing more. This is not over the top in the use of hops, but has a very competent blend of malt to support the citrus profile. I’m not sure as to when making a double of something or a big beer started qualifying as a Holiday Beer, but I’d like to see the addition of something celebratory other than amarillo hops. A good beer, but leaves my holiday wonderment wanting just a bit more.
Bottle 22fl.oz.
Clear medium amber orange color with a average, frothy to creamy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, burnt toffee, raisin - berry notes, light alcoholic. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090913]
This beer pours a deep amber/red with a medium white head leaving a little down the sides. The aromas are lots of citrus and a little pine. The flavors are grass and cirtus. Overall a really good beer! Cheers!
22oz. Bottle: Aroma of hops, caramel malt, resin, light grapefruit, light tropical fruit, lychee, and light pine. Poured orange/deep amber in color with a large, creamy, dense, off-white head that diminished but lasted throughout. Cloudy. Very sparkling. Opaque. Very good lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and light to medium bitter. Tastes of wood, hops, toasted malt, caramel malt, light resin, malts, and burnt butterscotch. Medium body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Hops, burnt butterscotch, and slight caramel finish. 80+IBUs??? I do not think so. Still, 9.1%ABV is totally hidden.
22oz bomber bottle. Hazy brown-amber color, with a respectable, lasting beige head. Pleasant sweet West Coast citrus hop aroma. The taste is pretty straightforward IIPA, with a very clean mouthfeel. Nice balance between the syrupy high gravity malt and the solid hop bill. Full of flavor, but never overly thick and the alcohol is never offensive or disagreeable. Excellent clean example of the style.
Bottle. Pours a clear orange brown with an off white head. Aroma is floral, caramel, pine. Flavor is bitter, slightly floral, somewhat faded, hint of caramel. Lively mouthfeel.
Lightly hazed copper color with a small dense beige head. Grapefruit and caramel aromas dominate. Hints of fruit and earth in the background. Sweet malt and caramel in the front. Citric hops in the middle. Quite earthy in flavor as well. With all the earth it seems a bit unclean. A somewhat malt forward IIPA, wish the malt was a bit clearer.
deep ruby with a cream head. nose is piney citrus frest hops. decent thickness with hops and citrus notes tagged with a slight bitter finish.
courtesy of fiulijn - dark blond-orange colour with a persistent beige foam; nice lace; solidly hoppy with notes of flowers and cream; moderate carbonation and with a solid malt body; slightly sticky; very robust bitterness, long and very bitter flowery finish - a one-dimensional hop bomb
22 oz. bottler served in shaker- poured a mildly turbid darkened copper with shades of brown, low carbonation, very still thin white head with several frog eyes formed upon the liquid surface. Aroma of a caramel malt, piney hops, with a note of coriander. Hits the mouth with a high medium body, malt is there and tastes slightly toasted, hops come in the middle but are weak for a double IPA, finish is acidic. I’m not fearing the reaper.
Too much malt and not enough hop! Knew when the wife liked it I would be disappointed.......(fish called wanda moment)....anyway...beer tastes ok, good drink just not what I expect from a DIPA at all. Its not crap like their stout.
A little dissapointing for a double IPA. I would call it an imperial amber. Had an overwhelming caramel malt presence without anywhere near enough hops. Too mellow and mild. Lightly bitter finish with some burnt malts. Not bad though.
22 oz bottle. Pours amber with a big head. Aroma smells a bit stale, it lacks the big hops aroma I would expect with a IIPA. Flavor is piney and floral,with a stronger malt backing than I prefer. A bit unbalanced. The ABV is well hidden. Forgettable.
Pours a rich brown. Typical soapy, citrus aromas. Nice creamy hoppy mouthfeel. A very mellow double IPA. Not very aggressive. I like it.