Alpine Beer Company Pure Hoppiness

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Alpine, California USA

Bottle: Golden, nearly translucent, large rocky white head, lovely lacing, lively carbonation.   Damn fine look’n IPA we have here.   Soft hop nose, some tea leaf, citrus peel, pixie stix, and flora.   Smells quite nice, not overly strong, but seems complex enough.   Flavor is semi-sweet up front, floral, with the bitterness emerging on the back end.   Not overly bitter, comes across as a robust American Pale to me.   Very clean, crisp, with no off-flavors after the finish.   Body and mouthfeel are fairly nice, but yet not as big as I thought this one would be.   ABV is well hidden, warming finish.   Not big by any means, somewhat light, but a very solid beer.   Thanks a ton Stephen for the trade!

22oz bottle via trade with DarkElf - Thanks Stephen! - Pours amber with a short white head that stays well and laces better. Aroma is pure citrus and pine. Grapefruit, peaches, resinous pine, and some underlying malts. Flavor is an explosion of bitter hops. Amazingly enough it pulls off some balance though with the caramel malts underneath. Palate is medium bodied, some spiciness from the hops. I think this is the hoppiest IPA I’ve had the chance to try... Interesting and definitely a hophead’s dream..

22oz bottle (recieved one from darkelf, one from fordest) Pours a clear very light orange color with a foamy white head. Nose is very sweet grapefruit, lots of citrus, some apricot notes and very fresh. Taste is quite bitter and harsh up front and in your face. Has some malty notes with a hint of caramel and some light citrus. the main focus is on bitter, carbonation and making you feel this beer more then taste is.

From a bomber shared by Blake. Clear golden body, thin white head. Wonderfully explosive, pungent aroma. Sappy pine bark, mint, grapefruit. The flavor brings about medium-strength pale malt with bell peppers and strong bittering hops closely integrated. Finish: pine and lemon bitter resins. The flavor isn’t nearly as exciting as the aroma is but this is still a great beer.

Thanks SecretSanta! Pours to a glowing copper kettle colored body with a thin white head that disapates yet leaves marvelous lacing. The aroma is amazingly hoppy. Fresh smelling citrus. Grapefruit, some sorta spicy hops, peaches. The flavor is malty with floral/resin/grapefruit/peach hoppiness. Slight spicy kick. Perhaps that’s the Hersbrucker hops? The palate is bitter, ever-so-slight dryness. This is pretty damn good.

On tap. Tasted during trip to california. Golden colour with a lance head. Nice flavour of hops, ends up nice bitter and dry, good balance with a medium body. But overall nothing speciel.

09.29.05 Bomber. Huge, dry, c-hops rule. Cat piss. Nothing cloying, sweetness never interferes. Pithy, herbal. I can’t find any complaints.

Thanks to DarkElf for this excelent beer. Clear golden color with a nice compact clean white head. The aroma is bitter. Fruity hops, grapefruit and other citrus hop aromas. There are also spicy and herbal hop presences. Strong complex hop flavor. Just like the aroma there are grapefrut and other citrus hops. Cascade for sure, but also some intricate flavors. A very tangy hop that hits very far at the back of the throat, but only briefly. Spicey floral hops and a great sweetness and smoothness from the malt presence that crops up for ballance. This is a great IPA with a wonderful hop mixture that finishes with a fun floral hop. Clean and superbly ballanced. This beer is as good as any IPA I’ve had. I’m very glad it was thrown into a recent trade.