Alpine Beer Company Nelson IPA

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Alpine, California USA

Very fruity, hoppy aroma, with secondary smell of flowers reminiscent of an aromatic white wine. Pleasantly, strongly bitter without being harsh. Nice, bready, lightly honeyed malt base that supports, but does not really balance the hops. That’s ok because this beer is about those fruity, tangerine, lime hop aromas. Very, very good, refreshing, flavorful, powerful.

On draft at Toronado, San Diego. Pours a clear yellow-orange with minimal head and little carbonation. Nose full of grapefruit and grass. The flavor comes on bitter and strong with pine and grapefruit. The finish has a noticeably toasty flavor which must be the rye. A refreshing and original IPA.

A- Clear golden orange hue, minimal head that congregates to a cluster of foam in the center, sticky lacing S- HUGE rye malts and bread malts, subtle citrus and grass hops T- Taste is dominated by rye malts to an overwhelming extent (almost like eating a deli sandwich), opens up to some grass and pine hops, finishes with a rye bread aftertaste M- Medium-bodied, oily texture, highly carbonated D- This is the most rye-heavy beer I’ve ever tasted, definitely an acquired taste that loses points for me personally (not a big fan of rye bread), the dominating rye appears off-balance and limits overall drinkability

On cask on the last night of existence for the Liar’s Club. Awesome fruity aromas off this hazy orange ale with a small tight head. Mango, Apricot, Pinapple, tangerine. More of the same on the flavors with a nice sweet maltiness as well. Grassy hops took over for the fruit in the finish. Very smooth on cask. Good stuff.

On tap at Obriens. Clear gold in color with a thin to small off white head. Clear. Aroma was strong and pungent. Citrus, orange, flowers, with hints of caramel, honey and BO. Flavor was stinky as others have mentioned, as there was a good amount of BO like flavor. Also a solid amount of citrus, grass and herbs. Some fruit, but not much balance in this one. Also, I am not too big of a fan of this hop varietal.

Tasted at AlohaCs party. Thanks to IronChefScott (I think). Poured from Growler. Stinky sharp IPA flavor on nose. Rich amber color. Did I mention it was stinky? Sharp sweet flavor. Fruity and hoppy.

Re-rate: 650 ml bottle from Bev4less. Pours a cloudy yellow color with a fine white head that has good retention and some lacing. The aroma is strong with grapefruit and green hops. The flavor is overtly fruity with mixed citrus and a good biter hop bite. There is also a chlorophyll fresh hop note in the flavor. The mouthfeel is silky smooth. The finish is long with lingering nelson hops.Overall: A solid IPA but different than I remember the draft version.

Sampled on 10/18/07, courtesy of a growler from kmweaver. Clear BRIGHT yellow/gold with a white head. Extremely sunny, bold, citrusy tropical fruit hop nose. The malt base is simple to showcase the hops on this one. Slightly catty (I kinda like that) with notes of tropical fruits, lemon and citrus. Pretty dry/attenuated and crisp. Not much sweetness. Smooth, yet ample bitterness. Medium bodied, smooth texture and moderate carbonation. Loved it.