Pyramid Outburst Imperial IPA
Alcohol by Volume: 8.5%
Find this beer and more at Full Throttle Bottles in Georgetown.
$7/sixer? Hell yeah.
Intro: Pyramid released Outburst Imperial IPA as a draft-only beer in their tap houses last year, and it was definitely well received. Cheers to the brass at Pyramid for realizing that they had hit on something promising, and as a result they rolled this out as a wide seasonal release.
Description: Pours a dark golden amber with medium head. Big aroma of citrus pops out of the glass. Taste is a mix of citrus and pine hops, and moderate caramel malts. A bit of mango and sweet resiny malt comes through as well. It carries an assertive bitterness through the finish, but it is still balanced for a double IPA. The hops are definitely the star in this beer. Overall, this is pretty spot on for the style and a very impressive release for Pyramid. Many beer geeks in these parts might thumb their noses at anything with the name Pyramid on it. But, this beer is pretty freaking good. Well done. For the price, this has got to be the best mix of value and quality for a double IPA in the market.
Verdict: Buy the hell out of it at around $7/sixer
Available on draft, in 12oz and 22oz bottles through March
Click here to see a list of select local bottle shops.
Brewery Website
Ratebeer Info
BeerAdvocate Info
Commercial Description/Press Release:
Pyramid Breweries welcomes Outburst Imperial IPA as its new spring seasonal. After debuting in early 2010 as the second offering in Pyramid’s limited- availability, draft-only Ignition Series, this dry-hopped IPA is poised to introduce itself to a wider geography of better-beer drinkers. A crafty combination of four different hops along with a dose of dry-hopping powers Outburst to 80 IBU strong. Its bold profile offers an aroma reminiscent of the Northwest hop fields at harvest time, along with spicy overtones of fresh citrus. Seeking a harmonious balance to the hop overload, four different specialty malts are blended to create a distinctive deep amber hue, and sweet caramel and roasty flavors. “Brewed with an astonishing four pounds of hops per barrel, Outburst is a fantastic beer,” said Simon Pesch, Head Brewer at Pyramid Brewery in Berkeley. ”This recipe has been fine tuned for years, and after several refinements and a great launch as part of our Ignition Series, many more hopheads can enjoy the bold taste and complex balance of Outburst this spring.” Outburst will be available from February – March, leading the charge for Pyramid’s 2011 seasonal line-up, including: Curve Ball ® Blonde Ale, summer; Juggernaut ® Red Ale, fall; and, Snow Cap ® Winter Warmer, winter. Outburst is available on draft, in 12oz and 22oz bottles, 6- packs, 12-packs, and as the seasonal guest in the Winter Variety 12-pack – alongside of Haywire ® Hefeweizen 1 , Apricot™ Ale, and ThunderHead ® IPA.
OUTBURST IMPERIAL IPA Availability: February – March
Style: Imperial IPA Malts: 2-Row, Munich, Caramel, and Carared Hops: Nugget, Chinook, Centennial, and Simcoe ABV: 8.5% IBU: 80
In the interest of full disclosure to satisfy the FTC’s law, this review was of a sample bottle received from the brewery.
This compares pretty well with Hop Czar. Neither of them is Pliny, but Pliny’s not $7 a sixer. It’s a good time for DIPA’s.
Tweets that mention Grab A Beer: Pyramid Outburst Imperial IPA -- Topsy.com // Jan 24, 2011 at 12:13 pm
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Laura Nixon, Seattle Beer News. Seattle Beer News said: Grab A Beer: @PyramidBrew Outburst Imperial IPA: http://bit.ly/haEbsK It's pretty freaking good. At $7/six-pack, it's awesome. […]
I picked up a sixer solely because of this review. See how much influence you have because you’re on the internet. 🙂
I’m one of those people who never consider Pyramid (you are too — don’t lie) — because I never hear anything good about them, and what I have tried is forgettable.
Like you said, this is pretty good. Not amazing. Not horrible. And the price is on point. I *may* buy this again. But, honestly, I’m the type of person that would rather spend nearly double for Green Flash West Coast IPA. Because that beer is phenomenal, and I say that every time I drink it. I’m just drinking this beer because it’s here right now.
Verdict: For budget conscience beer drinkers this is awesome.
Ep – glad you enjoyed it!
I may have to run a blind tasting panel with several double IPAs, including this one, to see how it measures up.
I’m on my last bottle and, for whatever reason, it’s tasting even better today.
The blind test is a good idea. If I had no idea this was Pyramid, my opinion may change. Unfortunately, that’s just the way us humans work, we’re totally influenced by silly things, like labels, hype and other bullshit. I try not to be, but I lose.
Tried it tonight based upon this review. Have to admit that I am one of those anti-pyramid types, but this beer is pretty good. At least I cant thing of too may other beers at this price point that I would select over this one. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I feel like it is close to being really good. To me it taste very similar to Trickster from Black Raven (although not as good), but at half the price. A good bargain!