Bison IPA Single Hop Series - Simcoe

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Berkeley, California USA

Name: IPA - Simcoe
Date: 05/03/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: hazy orange, wispy off white head,
Aroma: dry crystal malt aroma with lots of fruity floral hops,
Flavor: sweet crystal malt flavor, lots of sweet fruity character, light bitterness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

Pours a transparent deep golden bronze with a wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of grassy piny hops with a touch of lightly sweet pale malt. Body starts with a mild caramel malty sweetness and a decent mild hoppy character, but not that assertive in flavor. An ok IPA that might be better with a fresh hop profile.

Pours amber with a thin white head. Smells of sage, some spicy hints, grassy. Tastes dry and spicy with lots of floral hints on the finish.

Pours gold orange with a funky grassy hop aroma. Tastes somewhat sour with lemon notes and a rather unpleasant bitterness. I did not enjoy this one at all.

Appearance: Pours a clear body with just a slight orange tint to it. Tiny ring of white bubbles on top. Smell: Handful of tropical fruits, grapefruit and papaya, served up in a light caramel sauce. Taste: Caramel malts with just a hint of toast. More of the tropical fruits from the aroma displaying a nice juiciness. Fairly restrained medium bitterness. A touch citric on the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Not so enjoyable as an IPA, but it is pretty fun in terms of learning your hops and their various attributes and characteristics.

A vigorous pour produces a fat finger-thick, light tan colored head that sits atop a brilliantly clear, cranberry tinged, copper colored beer. The aroma is sharply aromatic with hop notes even at a distance of a couple feet. As I go in for a closer smell sharply herbal notes, pungent pine and dank hemp-like notes greet my nose. It almost starts to pick up a garlic / green onion like note as well. There are some typical hop fruit notes here, but not nearly what one would expect from Simcoe hops; muted candied orange peel, faint lychee and touches of tangelo are found if you really dig for it.

The beer is fairly light on the tongue; it is quaffable like a good IPA should be. The hop character is predominantly sharp & herbal, but there is some soft fruitiness that helps to provide a hint of balance. The malt here plays a completely supporting role with just a touch of toasty grain, and perhaps a hint of caramelized malt sugars. The finish is dominated by the hop character which is bitingly bitter, green, astringent and with a menthol-like like note that is almost minty. The expected, and more typically Simcoe associated flavors of fruit are more noticeable in the flavor than they were in the aroma, but still they are awfully muted from what one would expect from an all Simcoe hopped beer. Notes of lychee, ruby-red-grapefruit and tangelo are at a level above a hint, but not nearly as in your face and expressive as I was expecting.

I really am starting to be confused by Bison’s hop series of IPAs. Both the Amarillo and the Simcoe have been completely counter to all other encounters / brewing experience with either of these hops. I wonder if there is something in there brewing technique that is creating / accentuating the harsher components of these hops (my guess, it is their water chemistry). This is a decent IPA, and in fact I would be enjoying it a lot more if I did not know that hop variety used in it.

Purchased: Bevmo, Pasadena CA

22oz bottle. Clear golden color. Wonderful tart, hop aroma. Clean crisp malt. Nice hop bitterness. Personally reminds me of Sweetwater IPA. Flavor is nice malt, nice bitterness.

650 ml bottle from Bevmo. Clear amber with a fizzy white head. Hoppy citrus aroma with an earthy taste, pine notes, and a mildly bitter bite.