Aviator Hog Wild IPA

Brewed by Aviator Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Fuquay Varina, North Carolina USA

On tap at the Flying Saucer, Raleigh. Murky amber with a white head. Body seems thin, decent lace. Definately English style, malt and toffee flavors, mildly spicy herbal hop. Meh.

Draft at WBF Raleigh on 5/2/09. Called Hog Wild IPA at the fest and served through a "randall" type device. This one came out all head. Let it settle and got a cloudy amber beer. Aroma is odd. Even with the hops I didn’t think it was much of an IPA. Malty and sweet with some odd aromas. My friend and I commented that it didn’t strike us as an IPA. Maybe more of a English style Pale Ale. Either way, the taste brought more malt, soft toffee, light spice and light hops. Body was, well, very bubbly and light overall. Ends with more caramel, malt, light hops, spice and light bread. Bit disappointing since we saw the randall and figured it would be a hop-bomb. Instead we just got a bomb. I hope to try this again when it is at it’s prime. I will re-rate then.

Sampled at the WBF, randalled. Pours an amber gold with a thick offwhite head. The nose is buttery, diacetyl, some hops, mostly sweet, not much distinguishable. The flavor is buttery, sweet, mildly bitter, tastes just like a loaf of bread.

On tap at Raleigh WBF. This version was filtered through fresh hops sitting there next to the tap. Mmmmm. Pours a cloudy dark orange with an enormous head (from the hops filter) that took time to settle down. Taste is very strange at first. Instead of pine or citrus I’m getting lots of cardboard, spices, earthiness, soy sauce, and dirt. Very malt heavy even with the raw hops but this combination is not working well. Astringent and acidic on the palate. Tastes a lot like a homebrew IPA that is trying too hard. Not a cohesive offering. I would like to try more varieties from these guys but this was not a great start.

Sampled on tap at World Beer Fest in Raleigh. Pulled through fresh hops (Randall). Slightly hazy dark amber pour. with a foamy head. Oh, Jesus, what is going on here? This doesn’t smell like an IPA at all. Lots of malts, I guess, but honestly I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s just weird and not right. Tastes like poorly made homebrew. Hope these local folks figure this one out. I wish them the best, but this is not a good first impression.

Copper pour with a thick white head and spotty lace. Malt driven ipa. Very English if that makes any sense

On tap at the Flying Saucer, Raleigh. Actually I finished Immy’s pint, so it had that extra special Immy backwash goodness to it. Dark orange pour, almost like a red. Decent mouthfeel and nice frothy head. Mouthfeel was thinner than you’d expect, given how estimable the head is. Malt-forward for an IPA, that’s for sure. In fact, even though there was a decent amount of hops, it reminded me of Red Seal more than anything.

Draught at Tir na nog in downtown Raleigh. Appearance is amber, ver hazy, medium white head. Aroma is toasted grain, hops, sweet caramel. Flavor similar to aroma, has a bit of a thick syrup aftertaste. Hops are there, somewhat subdued. Very much like the English varieties that I have had. Kind of a dirty flavor--and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Tastes a little like my homebrew. Quite malty, good beer.