Beermanns Expedition IPA

Brewed by Beermanns Beerwerks Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Lincoln, California USA

(22oz Bottle. 03/2006) Aroma is of pineapple upside-down cake (a definite pineapple tinge, mixed in with sweet, bready -- malty -- notes) Hazy orange-amber. Huge, explosive, off-white, yellow-cream foam that settles into a big, same-colored head that lingers rather nicely. Working past that pineappley-sweet aroma you get hit with a big hoppiness masking some green-applish tastes and a heavy crystal malt influence. Definite phenolic tastes. Medium palate with a little residual sweetness left of the lips Muddy finish with some lingering bitterness.

Dark amber colour. Phenolic, metallic hop aroma. Sort of dirt-like finish after some one-dimensional bitter hops. Just not digging this brewery.

Bottled. Hazy amber. Salty grapefruit aroma. Some sweet malt. Heavy on the hops. Thick, but with streamlined mouthfeel, massively bitter finish. An unrefined but heavy smack in the face.

Pours medium orange with a tight off-white head. Lots caramel and piney hops in aroma and some in flavor. Bitter most of the way through and more so on the finish.

Pours a clear copper bronze with a thick, airy foamy white head. Dry hoppy, grainy and piney aroma. Starts with a full viscous and bittersweet palate with some dry caramel malty balance. A decent IPA, but could be more assertive with its hops.

Poured a clear amber color with a large off-white head. Piney aroma had a touch of butterscotch floating through the caramel. Flavor was mostly bitter from start to moderate finish. not enough sweet malt for balance and drinkability.

Clear, medium copper. Good head. Hoppy aroma, a bit herbal, almost noble perhaps. Very dry flavor with very little malt to back up the hops. Good, interesting hop aroma and flavor, but you need something to back it up to make this a truly good beer.

This brew seems atypical for the style, the nose revealing some interesting characteristics - smells a bit like a tire, though somehow not in a bad way. Not much body, citrus malt and good hops presence in the finish. As it opened up it became more interesting and enjoyable.