Beer review: Saranac High Peaks Series Imperial IPA

Tonight, at the grocery oasis that is Wegmans, I came across and impulse-purchased a beer I'd never before seen from Saranac: their High Peaks Series Imperial IPA.

For those not familiar with Saranac, they're a brewery based in Utica, NY (actually the Matt Brewing Company). To quote from their web site:

The Saranac “High Peak Series” is a series of Special Beers, limited to one single batch. These beers will be much bigger, more complex, and targeted to craft beer aficionados.
This is a beer to be sipped and savored; a “real show and tell . . . blow your head off beer”

No kidding - I'm no newbie & this one blew my head off! The neck label states (perhaps too proudly?) that the beer uses 10 different malts and 10 different hops... it's got 8.5% alc., and 85 IBUs (whatever they are - I didn't bother to look it up).

Long story short, it's just too much malt and too much hops for even me - I made it through half the bottle before I stopped pretending to like it. At best, it's a good sipping beer for a serious connoisseur, but otherwise, steer clear.