Gordon is the third and final beer I received from Oskar Blues Brewery to review (albeit late) for last month’s Canned Beer Week.

This is a serious beer: an American-style Imperial (or Double) IPA, with 8.7% alcohol by volume—the highest of the three I’ve reviewed.

Appearance: Dark copper colored beer, fairly clear. Substantial head that leaves nice lacing, like all of these, but there was no "hiss" from the can (as I mentioned previously).

Smell: Brightly hoppy, very green and stemmy and very floral. Almost a fresh hop character—it’s that bright. There’s a sweet undercurrent of maltiness below that but it’s subtle.

Taste: It’s the hops here, punctuated by a sweetly malty, almost barleywine-like character. Hops are full of resin and woodiness. Very green. I like the sweet malt base, too… there’s the touch of alcohol heat and an almost cloying barleywine character.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and a bit thick… substantial on the tongue, and the strong hops leave you dry and puckery.

Overall: Interesting, complex beer—not one to take lightly (especially for the alcohol content).

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.86 out of 5 and is in their 97th percentile.