I’m going to make a confession. I’m getting tired of beer. Not the beverage itself, but the current hype surrounding it. I’m tired of the Facebook pages on which people post gloating pictures of the hyper-rare beer they are drinking in order to make others feel envious. I’m not really all that interested in this or that brewery’s new release. Beer festivals hold less and less appeal. The rate of brewery openings has become exhausting. I long for the day when drinking a beer was just that, and not some monumental event that had to be contemplated, documented, and elevated to the status of “experience.”

It was in this mindset that I pulled a bottle of Pour Decisions Brewing Company’s Maroon and Bold from my refrigerator. My intent was to just drink it while watching episodes of Green Acres on Hulu. Indeed, episode 17 of season 2 had already begun when I took the first sip. This was not a typical imperial IPA. Pour Decisions claims to “innovate tradition.” That’s just what was going on here. The flavor was so familiar, and then again not. Damn! I was going to have to contemplate.

Here’s my notes:

Maroon and Bold
Pour Decisions Brewing Company, Roseville, Minnesota
Style: Imperial IPA
Serving Style: 22 oz. bottle

Aroma: Malt plays a big role. Toffee and a bit of toasted biscuit. Caramel, but more dry than sweet. Next to that and in almost equal balance (but not quite) are citrusy hops. Estery – oranges and maybe even raisins. It has an English kind of funk.

Appearance: Dark amber with a reddish cast. It is actually kind of maroon. Brilliant. Moderate, rocky, just-off-white foam with good persistence.

Flavor: There’s that malt again. Toast, toffee, caramel, biscuit. Malty, but not sweet. Like the aroma, the malt is in near equal balance with the hops – citrus, pineapple and pine resin. Super-high attenuation accentuates the bitterness, which has a sharp, stony character. That English yeasty funk carries over from the aroma, leaving nice orange marmalade overtones.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body. Medium-high carbonation. Crisp, not creamy.

Overall Impression: I wasn’t going to write this beer up, but drinking it made me want to take some notes. It’s unique for a DIPA, not typically my favorite style. Malt has clearly been given equal attention with the hops. That’s my kind of DIPA. This would be a great hoppy beer to pair with desert. I could see drinking this with raisin spice cake.