On Monday night I was the first paying customer to sample a pint of Yukon’s The Megalomaniac Imperial Red on tap at the Sugar Bowl – the only place outside Whitehorse to have it (and, given that Whitehorse ran out last week, currently the only place on the PLANET to have it). Now, my fortune at being the first was mostly luck rather than planning (I knew it was coming this week, but arrived literally 15 minutes after they tapped it)

For those of you not aware, I mentioned about a month ago that a keg or two of this special beer was being released to the Sugar Bowl. It is a truly unique beer. They took their award-winning Yukon Red and “Imperialized” it, much like IPA to Double IPA or Stout to Imperial Stout.

Now, when you imperialize a beer, you intensify its main feature – hops in IPAs, roast and fullness in stouts. Not so hard (which is not to say these beer are easy to make). But what do you “double” in a Red, known for its subtle characters?

That is what makes this beer so fascinating. You can’t go over the top with anything or else you fundamentally alter its personality. But to be imperial, you still need to go bold. See the dilemma?

How did Megalomaniac turn out? In short: fantastic! I really enjoyed sipping on this beer. It has a ruby red hue, almost no head, and just the slightest haze. The aroma offers caramel, toffee, some brown sugar and a moderate floral hop in the background that sharpens the overall character. It smells exactly like concentrated Yukon Red.

The front of the sip produces a nice blend of malts – toffee, maple, brown sugar, dark fruit and caramel. But as the beer moves back, it does not become cloying or thick. Instead the beer sharpens as the hops starts to take hold. Don’t misread me, this beer doesn’t become bitter and hoppy. The hops simply counters the malt you experience at first. I pick up some delicate hop flavour – earthy and floral – and there is a hint of bitter linger after the swallow. But the main characteristic of this beer is balance. I get enough malt to satisfy my red ale expectations, but it remains sharp enough to stay in the realm of amber ales. I also have a personal theory that they use just a hint of roasted barley (as is traditional for Irish Reds) to help with the drier finish, as this beer, along with its single sister, always has a touch of dry right at the end that can’t be attributed to hops. (I could be completely off the mark on that one – but it is a thought that comes to me every time I drink Yukon Red, and this beer too.)

What I found myself coming back to again and again was how amazingly balanced this beer was, and at the same time holding a 8% alcohol base. It is gentle, subtle, complex and dangerously quaffable. Had I more time at the Bowl, I might have found myself needing a cab home (thank goodness for family responsibilities to keep a beer writer to one pint). It is full yet not thick. It is malty but not syrupy. It is sharp but not grainy or astringent.

In short, it is a lovely beer. Enjoy it while you can (I predict it makes it until Friday at 4:15). And then lobby the good folks at Yukon to give us more in the future. Maybe if we are good boys and girls, they will bottle it next time.