Angel City IPA

Brewed by Angel City Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Torrance, California USA

Copper tone with a frothy white head, this has more the aroma of a sturdy APA than an IPA - caramel malt with light citrus, resinous, and earthy hops. The flavor has a more intense bitterness to counter the sweet caramel malt. The finish quiets down, leaving a lingering but mild hop bite. A decent brew, but not an exceptinal IPA.

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Body is a rich red with a slight chill haze. The head is a creamy, long-lasting foam. The aroma is a touch of caramel and a bit of canned tea. The flavor has a timid bitterness at the end with little real hop flavor or aroma. A good bit of yeasty fruitiness.

Super clear, deep copper, almost amber with a thin off white head. Head goes away almost immediately. No foam, no lacing. Huge caramel malt aroma, that’s all I get, maybe a little toffee. Flavor is bitter up front, then carmelly and malty in the middle, and a little bitter again in the finish. Detected more of the Goldings flavor as the beer warmed, tiny bit spicy and maybe a little lemony. Nice medium body. Different in an English kind of way. Not really my style, but appreciated. A little over carmelly, but good.

22oz bottle-pours a light tan head and gold color with particles. Aroma is some hop, medium malt and a bit of off-putting apple cider. Taste is some hop, medium malt and a bit of off-putting apple cider, maybe a packaging/bottling issue. While still quite drinkable would like to try again. OK carbonation.

Sampled February 2007
Pours with a brilliantly clear, reddish copper color. It is topped by a frothy, initially two-finger thick, light tan colored head. The aroma has an interesting herbal, almost vegetal note to it. It is quite malty as well with notes of caramel, toasted biscuit notes, and chewy, almost malt extract type notes.

The beer is quite smooth up front with just a touch of malt sweetness. The finish dries out even more and has a toasted, almost roasted coffee like note to it. The beer has a solid bitterness to it that is noticeable throughout the brew. There is not a whole lot of hop flavor here; just a light herbal character is noticeable. The malt seems a bit old; notes of caramel, and toasted grain, but also a sort of aged malt character that is both dry melanoid rich. This tastes like a pale ale, though it has more malt character. This really seems a throw back to the days before the American craft brewing hop craze. Drinkable, and fairly decent, but even using English hops this could be greatly improved upon.

Bomber courtesy of danielcurtis81. Pours copper with a sticky white head. Smells of grass, hay, earthy. Tastes of pepper, bubblegum, sweet citrus.

I ordered this at the Yardhouse the other night and drank it before it really struck me as a great beer. I guess for that reason I’d give it a very drinkable nod, but I would not seek this one out if you want to be impressed. I remember some strong hop presence in both the flavour and nose, but a fairly watery body.

Bottled. Pours a dark brown/amber color. Aroma is a little tart, not really very hoppy. Smells kind of off. Slight hoppiness. Not a west coast style. Some roasted caramel flavors. Overly sweet finish. Tastes like an amber. Some alcohol is present.