Southern Tier UnEarthly

Southern Tier is one of the breweries that I associate with strong hops use and bold hops characteristics.  My husband has loved everything of theirs that he's tried (his other favorite brewery is Elysian).  I was in the mood for something good and hoppy that I hadn't tried yet, so my hubby handed me their UnEarthly:

Vittles:
Imperial IPA
9.5% abv

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 23/25
Taste: 37/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 90/100

Impression:
I like the way it poured out, and not only did it have nice retention and lacing, but it had that stickiness that I expect to see in this kind of beer.  The aroma actually made my mouth water a bit, and I don't come across that too often.  The nose is a mixture of strong pine, citrus, caramel, and spice.  Pacific Northwest hops' best characteristics, as far as I'm concerned, with a decent representation of the malt bill in the amount of caramel I could smell.  The flavors largely follow the aroma, with the citrus coming through more clearly as grapefruit.  It's not the all-out hop-bomb that some other IIPAs can be, but it does have a strong, bold flavor profile with enough backbone to match.  It's nicely balanced between the malt-sweetness and the hops-bitterness.  It's moderately carbonated, so it tickles the tongue a bit, and it finishes somewhat dry and crisp.  All in all, a damn fine beer.

Cheers!