G'Knight from Oskar Blues

As I was planning which beer to review almost a month ago, my computer died. Yes, I still use a PC. No, I do not have a tablet. Yes, I could have used my phone to write the review but I chose not to. Not only am I a beer geek but I am also a little bit of a computer geek. I swapped parts out of my computer and realized I did not have the needed part. I bought a cheap computer off of eBay that was a little bit better than the one that died. When I received the computer, Wifey and I went on a trip to see family and friends in Florida and South Carolina. Yes, it also turned into a big beer run! My computer is up and here we go...

Wifey and I went to the International Tap House (iTap) in Chesterfield, MO and I ordered G'Knight from Oskar Blues. Apparently, it is a big thing that Oskar Blues came to St. Louis. I have heard of their beers but never had one. When they came here, people were going nuts and there were Oskar Blues tastings all over town. I bought some of their stuff but have not tasted any yet. I thought that this night would be the perfect time to do so.

G'Knight is an Imperial Red IPA. It is 8.7% ABV. The color is a nice dark amber with a nice white head. The aroma is amazing. It is very citrusy, piney and some tropical notes. The taste is so great. The first taste I got was the citrus and pine flavors. After that, the malt is there to even things out a bit. It has a real nice smooth finish. This is one fine beer. I really look forward to getting some of this later for home.

While I was preparing to write this post, I was on the Oskar Blues website to get some of the stats on this beer. Oskar Blues is located in Lyons, CO. Back in 2002, there was a big wild fire in the area surrounding the brewery. Gordon Knight was a helicopter pilot that was dropping water on hot spots for the Boulder County Fire Department. His helicopter crashed while fighting the fire.

Mr. Knight was also a brewer. This is from a website that is a memorial to Mr. Knight: "Knight won Great American Beer Festival gold medals at three breweries: High Country Brewery in 1993, Twisted Pine Brewing Co. in 1996 and Wolf Tongue Brewery in 1998. Each of the champion beers was very different than the others, but they shared one thing in common -- all were made on the same 5-hecoliter (about 4 1/2 barrels) system that followed Knight from brewery to brewery. He first acquired it used from Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan, who used it themselves to found New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins."

This beer is in tribute to Gordon Knight. This is such a good beer. I am giving this beer 4.5 hop flowers. 

Oskar Blues
iTap - Chesterfield
Gordon Knight - the Inspiration behind G'Knight