I just love having a big, bold, dank, pithy, piney, red, hop bomb around a couple times a year. Especially in the Fall when the darkness starts creeping in sooner and sooner, the nights are cooling off, the garden is waning, the trees are changing colors, the hops are fresh. I usually don't like much, if any, crystal malts in my hoppy beers, and have even avoided it completely at times. For my Imperial Red IPA I do like some burnt sugar in there, just not raisins and plums. Of course you have to have the right hops to play nicely over a red, malty, base with a touch of burnt sugars and toffee, and a big alcohol presence. I have done 2 beers along these lines in the past, the first iteration of Rufio was over a base of Vienna and Munich with Chinook, Simcoe, and CTZ. The second Imperial Red IPA I did last fall used flaked barley, crystal rye, and Kiln Amber for a malty and aromatic base to support the Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and CTZ hops. For this version (a return to Rufio), I used a base close to Pliny the Elder with an extra layer of Crystal using an addition of British Dark Crystal for burnt sugar and color along with the Carastan for honey and light toffee notes, as well as Black Malt for the color and dry roast finish. I really enjoyed the way the 4 C hops played up the dank and pith last Fall over the more berry / tropical fruit forward notes on the first Rufio, so I went with this combo again.
