A Flowery Song

Background: Limited availability, brewed in a small batch, and according to the internet evidently very hard to find. None of which I knew when I bought a couple of bottles, since I rarely go out shopping for specific beers. Fortune favours the me. Anyway, it’s a Double IPA and I can’t currently convince Bell’s website to cough up information instead of PHP errors.

Nose: Candied orange peel. Other than lots of hops, the alcohol is very evident.

Taste: Piny resinous hop flavour, pithy grapefruit hop flavour, herbal leafy hop flavour, high hop bitterness, dry hoppy finish. Oh, and there’s probably some malt in there somewhere. The hoppiness does a great job masking the alcohol, as I can’t taste any of the 10+% ABV that was so evident on the nose.

Overall: This beer has never heard of the concept of ‘balance’. It’s interesting to drink in despite of that, but not something that I personally would class as great. If you love hops and don’t mind a beer that’s just hops, you should definitely grab this one if you run across it.

Hops.

Background: Brewed to celebrate Sierra Nevada’s 29th anniversary, this is a big bold IPA showcasing Cascade, their favourite hop variety.

Nose: Toasty malt and citrusy hops, mainly clementine with a bit of grapefruit.

Taste: Solid, tasty caramel malt, with toast and honey character. Medium hop bitterness, but mainly the Cascades contribute a bunch of citrus flavour, with a bit of herbalness. Slight sweetness to start, then a long hoppy finish.

Overall: Sierra Nevada knows what they’re doing when it comes to IPAs, and this one does not disappoint.

Background: This seasonal ale from Sierra Nevada is an American IPA made with Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial hops.

Nose: Lots of floral and citrusy hops.

Taste: Sweet caramel malt, aggressive fruity hoppiness fading into a grapefruit pith finish.

Overall: Excellent. Well-balanced and exceedingly drinkable.

Background: This IPA from Bell’s runs 7% ABV and has a fish on the bottle.

Nose: Floral hoppy goodness. Bright notes of grapefruit and pine resin, biscuity malt low notes.

Taste: Peach fruit, biscuit malt, light caramel influence. Medium to high hop bitterness, lots of grapefruit and piny hop flavour. Finish is slightly astringent, long and resinous.

Overall: Beautifully balanced and eminently drinkable.

Background: From Left Coast in San Clemente, CA, this American IPA pairs five hop varieties with English malts and is named…after a golf course? (Or possibly after the tree that the golf course was named for.)

Appearance: Apricot coloured body, sticky off-white head.

Nose: Grainy malt forms a solid bed for floral, piny hops. Less hop aroma than the boasting about being “double dry-hopped” suggests.

Taste: Clean, sweet maltiness with a vague fruitiness, piny and grassy hop flavour, high hop bitterness. A hint of tangerines. Finish is resiny and slightly harsh.

Overall: Except for the harshness in the finish, a very good example of the style (and one that should serve to remind people that American hops are about more than just citrus).

EDIT: There's a fair amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Sampling mit Hefe ups the fruitiness a tad, and adds a bit of spiciness.

ruination, n.
1. The state of being ruined, a state of devastation or destruction.
2. The act of ruining or wrecking.
3. The cause of being ruined, destroyed or lost.
4. A loss of reputation.

Background: Double IPA from Stone. “A liquid poem to the glory of the hop”, this brew weighs in at 7.7% ABV and has the usual overblown copy on the back claiming that it will assault your senses. They also quote a slightly different definition for 'ruination' which includes most of the senses but leaves off the fourth.

Appearance: Pale orange with an off-white head.

Nose: Intense floral hops.

Taste: Just a hint of honeyed malt before the hops kick in with a floral assault, followed by some bitterness and citrus notes. Earthy, herbal hop character follows, leading into the finish which contains the return of some malt with its friend bready and showcases piny and resiny hops.

Overall: Very nice IPA; does what it sets out to do and I don't think Stone need to fear any loss of reputation among people who try this beer.

Background: Brewed by HomeBrewTalk member ScubaSteve, received as part of the 08/08/08 RIS swap.

Appearance: Pour was a bit absent-minded, so I'm not sure if the lack of head is my fault or the beer's. Nice coppery color, a ring of white bubbles around the edge of the glass.

Nose: Grapefruity hop aroma, honeyed caramel underneath.

Taste: Piny and citrusy hops predominate, with a decent dose of bitterness underneath. Very much a candied fruit impression, with some darker dried fruit showing up along with the caramel from the nose. Some biscuity malt starts to come through near the finish.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, medium-light body, some warming alcohol presence.

Overall: Decent enough, but I think it might be slightly oxidised.

Appearance: Deep clear copper with a dense cream-coloured head that displays excellent retention.

Nose: Grapefruit and lemon hop aroma. Lots of hops.

Taste: Subdued malt, spicy pine and citrus hops. A bit of grass in the finish. Lingering hop presence. Some fruity esters.

Mouthfeel: Full, creamy body.

Overall: Excellent IPA. Enough alcohol to be warming on a winter night, but not so much as to be overpowering. The balance is tipped slightly towards the hops, but there's a modicum of restraint that's nice to see from the brewer.

Appearance: Impossible to pour. Excessively foamy white head. Excellent retention, though.

Smell: Subdued piney hops.

Taste: Pale malt, high hops bitterness, floral and pine hop flavour. Some pithy citrus as well.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, highly carbonated; feels heavy.

Drinkability: Not really there. Decent taste profile buried under a muddled mouthfeel.

Bottled 12/18/06

Appearance: Pours an opaque copper with two fingers of off-white head. Okay retention.

Smell: Malt, dried citrus peel, apples, surprisingly mild hop character, caramel notes; overall very fruity and syrupy.

Taste: Hits hard with a sweet, caramel and malt front, which quickly falls leaving a fruity, candied-orange middle. Long finish is all pine and citrus hops, with mild grapefruit notes.

Mouthfeel: Very full mouthfeel, mild carbonation; probably could have used a bit more aging, as there's still some solventy alcohol character.

Drinkability: Surprisingly drinkable for a beer that seemed so unbalanced at first taste. The hops and malt balance each other almost perfectly, and it goes down quite nicely. A tip for the unwary: at 20% ABV, this is definitely one to sip rather than quaff.