A Flowery Song

Background: Brewed by Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh (except there they call it Golden Promise). English pale ale brewed with organic Golden Promise malt and First Gold hops. I’d never heard of this hop variety before, but it’s evidently a dwarf derivant of Whitbread Golding.

Nose: Sweet, rounded malt with hints of apricot.

Taste: Candied orange and tea leaf influences on a soft honeyed malt background. Finish has a bit of metallic copper.

Overall: Decent, but not outstanding, pale ale. Just a hint of off-tastes detracts from the overall experience.

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.

Background: Since 2006 Samuel Adams has held a yearly AHA and BJCP sanctioned homebrew competition. Two winners are selected; the winning beers are released in a mixed six-pack with the winning beer from a homebrew competition among Samuel Adams employees. (Well, usually. This year's sixer is only two beers, as there were ingredient sourcing issues with Mike McDole's Double IPA; blame the hop shortage.)

This Grape Pale Ale was created by Samuel Adams employee Lili Hess, and was brewed with “natural grape flavor” and maple syrup.

Appearance: Beautiful bronzed orange colour, fluffy white head with decent retention.

Nose: Toasty grain, vague fruitiness, nutty maple. I fear I may be imagining the last part, though.

Taste: Solid light malt profile, with some mild caramel character. Green grapes show up in the middle along with a hint of breadiness, and getting closer to the finish we add a little spicy hops and maple syrup. A dry finish keeps it from seeming overly sweet.

Overall: I like it. It has well-rounded flavour and uses its specialty ingredients well; they're not just there to make people go “Hey, that's odd.”

Background: IPA from Brouwerij Van Eecke in Belgium.

Appearance: Poured from a corked, caged 750ml bottle. Light amber body, rocky white head with decent retention.

Nose: Floral hops, spicy yeast esters, lemon, sugar, and malt.

Taste: Crisp malt, lots of complex herbal hops, apple and lemon fruit, a hint of funkiness and some phenols in the middle following through in the finish. Medium-high hop bitterness. Not even a hint of the high alcohol content.

Mouthfeel: Body is on the light side of medium, and it could do with a bit more carbonation.

Overall: Excellent. Complex and layered taste, well-balanced, and unconstrained by any style considerations.

Appearance: Coppery body, dense white head.

Nose: Pine resin, light citrusy hop notes, some pale malt.

Taste: Nice balance of hops and malt. Hops are mainly piny, with some grapefruit and apricot aspects.

Mouthfeel: A little heavy, and alcohol is evident. Medium to high bitterness sticks around into the finish.

Overall: Slightly rough mouthfeel, but the taste is excellent. A winner. Served at cellar temperature, but I think a cooler temp would be better.

Background: Produced from pilsner malt using heirloom rice as an adjunct and fermented with both sake and ale yeasts.

Appearance: Rose-coloured body with peach highlights and a coarse frothy white head that quickly dissipates.

Nose: Sour red fruit, slightly musty yeast.

Taste: Berry-like fruitiness, some musty cellar character, light sweetness on the front followed by a medium tartness which lasts through the dry finish. Alcohol is evident, but not overpowering. Floral overtones on a solid background of malt and rice.

Mouthfeel: Zesty carbonation, body is on the light side of medium.

Overall: Good to see a brewer using rice in a beer that's not a light lager. And a very good beer it is, displaying excellent flavourfulness.

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.