Acme California IPA

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Fort Bragg, California USA

Oraney copper, with a thin beige head. Fruity, citrusy but clean aroma. Citrusy hop flavors up front, then a resiny, sticky hop flavor. Barely perceptable malty sweetness. Nice session IPA.

Pours with a lightly hazy, golden copper color, and is topped by a frothy, large bubbled, light tan colored head that barely gets a 1/2 cm above the body of the beer. The aroma is hop focused with citrus fruit notes being dominant. The hops are "light" enough though that ample malt character comes through as well; notes of lightly caramelized grain help to accentuate the citrus hop notes and a solid, biscuit like, toasted malt character lends a solidity to finish off the aromatics. It would even seem that the bergamot / grapefruit citrus notes become subservient to the malt character over time. This certainly not an aggressively aroma-hopped beer and, even though a touch atypical, I like all of the malt complexity that is noticeable (despite the simplistic seeming grain bill).

The taste is dry and malty up front, but is joined by an immediate, acute bitterness that cuts through the flavor profile and lingers on into the finish. The long finish also leaves a lingering note of lightly toasted soda crackers. The citrus character that was so noticeable initially in the aroma is fairly muted here; a touch of light orange peel that has lost the piquancy of the bergamot / grapefruit note in the aroma. The hops have an astringent edge to them that certainly dominate the flavor profile; sharply herbal, but mostly of the bitter herb variety. I do like the toasted / biscuit-like grain note here, there is also a touch of caramelized / crystal-malt character here. The noticeable, yet subservient, malt notes help to round out what would otherwise be a too harshly hopped beer.

All in all I am quite happy with this beer. The flavor profile had quite a bit more hop punch than I was expecting, based on the aroma. Of course I would like to have seen a bit more fresh, American hop flavor in this beer, but it is still quite quaffable. In fact quaffable is an apt descriptor here. The body of this beer is quite light, and if it weren’t for the abundant bittering hop character, this would fall squarely in the American-style Pale Ale camp.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.58degrees.com/>58 Degrees & Holding Co., Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

Bottle poured a hazy golden yellow with a large lasting off white head. Aromas of bread, a hint of carmel and very light citrus. Not much aroma at all for an IPA. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of bread, light carmel, some earthiness and a hint of pine with a moderatly bitter finish. Not bad but, kinda like an IPA light.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a medium sized head of foamy with a frothy top fine to medium sized white colored bubbles that was and left behind a transparent softly carbonated light orange brown colored body and a fair lacing. The mild aroma was hoppy and caramel malt. The mouth feel was very tingly at the start and at the finish with a bubbly hoppy aftertaste. The flavor contained an average amount of hops typical of most IPS’s. A decent one but not one that I would consider buying again.

I love this style of beer, but this beer didn’t impress me. Nothing special here worth buying this beer again. Reminiscent of a good IPA but without the full flavor because it is a little too watered down.

via trade with IrishBoy - Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a nice small lasting head. Light lacing. Very light citrus hop aroma (very light). The flavor has a little more citrus hop flavoring to it. This beer may be a little past its prime. Mouthfeel is light and dry. Not too bad. Worth a try. Thanks Richard.

Tap at Coopers in Seattle.

Pours a relatively light amber with a modest head. Citrus, hay, and floral hops mix on the aroma; the flavor is all bitterness, a touch of citrus, a tough of wood, but mostly a deeply bitter, slightly astringent, slightly metallic flavor. While there are no glaring flaws here this is worlds away from an IPA that truly celebrates its hops.

In short, I can see why North Coast chose to release this under another name. It’s just not in their league.

(bottle) Pale gold with generous white head. Citrus aroma, citrus hops flavor - a true California IPA.