Tasting: Imperial Amber

This is a long overdue post. This beer has been kegged for over a month, but I'm pretty sure that I haven't handed out too many of them yet to get any other opinions on it. In January I was little inspired by Port Brewing's Shark Attack. I wanted something carmely and piney; hop forward while big and malty. While this was in the primary our Imperial Oak IPA was just about ready to be bottled. I wanted this to be the exact opposite of that beer. It is loaded with darker malts and C hops and heavily Amarillo dry hopped. The grain bill looked almost Barleywine(ish) and my big fear was that it would be unbalanced as hell.  Three ounces of Amarillo would hopefully take care of that. OG clocked in at 1.082. I might enjoy this a bit too much while April is finishing out. 


Imperial Amber
Pale Malt, Munich, Victory, Crystal 80, Carared, Carapils, Special B
Columbus, Centenial, Cascade and Amarillo Hops
American Ale 2

The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Katharine Tyran

There's music in my heart all day,
I hear it late and early,
It comes from fields are far away,
The wind that shakes the barley.

Above the uplands drenched with dew
The sky hangs soft and pearly,
An emerald world is listening to
The wind that shakes the barley.

Above the bluest mountain crest
The lark is singing rarely,
It rocks the singer into rest,
The wind that shakes the barley.

Oh, still through summers and through springs
It calls me late and early.
Come home, come home, come home, it sings,
The wind that shakes the barley.

*Imperial Amber to the left in photo. Plum Oak Saison to the right.