Butte Creek Organic India Pale Ale

Brewed by Butte Creek Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chico, California USA

The organic produce at my local co-op is way better than conventional grocery store produce. Does the same apply for organic IPAs? Unfortunately, not in this case. While Butte Creek is vastly superior to the other organic option in my vicinity (Wolaver’s), it falls short in comparison to Stone, Anderson Valley, Great Divide, and the many other brewers who make quality IPAs. However, Butte Creek’s offering is a strong effort, quite satisfying in its own unique way. The pour reveals a darker-than-usual amber color, with some sediment at the bottom of the bottle creating a subtle haziness in the liquid. The aroma seems restrained, just hinting at a grassy or woodsy character. The flavor presents caramel malts and harsh hoppiness doing an awkward dance together. Sometimes it works, and the mis-match is charming, quirky -- other times it’s not so cute, and the hops remind me of green tea steeped too long. Still, worth a try.

pours with a slight white head and a gorgeous amber colour with a slight cloudiness. Full bodied taste lots of hops. Aftertaste is pleasant as expected from an India Pale Ale.

It looks to me like they changed bottles, which kind of sucks as I’m shopping for singles and end up buying one of each (old and new) which would be such a big deal but the beer really isnt very good, which really sucks for me cause I now have two of these beers and I drink the new label first, which I can only assume that if I don’t like the new label, I’m probably not going to like the old label on an IPA but what the fuck, it’s only $2.10 for a 12 ounce bottle at Bierkraft where I spent a shitload of time today because I was parked two blocks away and it really started pouring outside so I think what a better way to spend some time then to shop for singles that I haven’t rated yet but thank goodness Bierkraft has so many beers or I would have had to walk in the pourin rain for two blocks, now God forbid I get wet when I knew it was going to rain and I left the house without an umbrella, which makes me think "who carries an umbrella if they don’t have to wear work clothes or something nice" I know it sure as fuck better be raining piss before I’d use an umbrella but for now it’s Cornell vs. RPI college hockey on the tube and for some reason me thinks, Go Big Red! BTW, organic beers suck.

Bottle. Clear reddish amber in color with a off white head that left a nice lacing on the glass. Malty hoppy citrusy aroma. Citrus earthy piney hoppy notes. Malty caramel and hoppy flavor. Roasty notes. Finish is bitter. Medium bodied. Very drinkable. Nice beer.

Clear reddish amber color with a decent head; nice lacing. Mild smell of caramel malts and herbal hops. Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Has a fairly sweet caramel, grassy taste. Finishes mildly bitter. If i hadn’t read the label I’d think this was an amber or English pale ale.2005

It’s a decent IPA - notes of pine and citrus. It pours a hazy amber with a yellowish head. A decent session IPA.

22oz bottle. I must have gotten a very fresh bottle, it was better this time! Pours orange amber with a thinnish, white, semi-sticky head, some lace. Smells metallic and malty with some nice earthy hops as well. Tastes bitter hoppy with some nice crisp caramel malt flavors as well. Hops are grassy and earthy. Medium body, good carbonation.

650 ml bottle from Pizza Port. Clear golden amber with no head. Caramel and bready aroma. Taste is bready mildly bitter and vaguely citric in taste. More like a pale ale than an IPA. I’ve had better.