Carolina India Pale Ale

Brewed by Carolina Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Holly Springs, North Carolina USA

Bottle. Pours a nice copper/gold color. This didn’t really do it for me. Citrusy and hoppy, and would be refreshing if it weren’t so bitter. Just bit a little too hard for me. Fairly complex, I can see why some enjoy this. This won’t change your mind about IPAs if you aren’t a fan.

12 oz. bottle. Slighlty hazy deep amber with a small, whitish head. PIney hop aroma followed by a hint of malt. The NW hops dominate the flavor from beginning to end. JThe base of caramel malt flavor comes through, most evident right before the bitter, astringent finish. Very drinkable, but for my taste needs a little more malt character to balance off the hops. Seems a little overly dry hopped for a true IPA in my opinion.

Pours a striking fiery clear copper with a medium off-white head. Citrusy, pacific nw hops in the nose with a touch of caramel. Flavor has big notes of cacade hop-type qualities: grapefruit, citrus, flowers. There is also ample caramel malt/toastiness to back it up along with a touch of California Ale Yeast in there too. Pleasantly sweet with a perfect, non-harsh hop bitterness. Medium bodied, soft texture and moderate carbonation. Good lacing and head retention. Good stuff.

(12oz bottle, best by 11/24/05) Small off-white head atop a clear amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, grapefruit, light caramel. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, some pine, light caramel. Watery light-medium body, quite drinkable. Seems more like an APA as far as hop aggression, but an enjoyable session beer nonetheless.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with BlueDevil0206, thanks James!) Mmm, I can smell the toasty malt in this IPA. There’s a modest amount of hops in the nose as well, but actually quite a noticeable aroma of herbal tea, so this is a very balanced and nice smelling beer to me. The same degree of balance blesses the flavor too, with gently toasty and lightly sweet malt providing a solid backbone for the beer, and mildly bitter and grapefruity hops showing nice presence from start to finish. There’s very little change in the flavor from the sip to the finish. Perhaps a hint of smokiness in the finish, but at best, it’s faint and fleeting. Medium bodied, reasonably clean, and the moderate carbonation level is easy on the palate. A hazy, bright amber colored body is topped by a very small, but surprisingly steady off-white head that leaves a fair amount of randomly shaped lace on the glass. So although it’s pretty mild for an IPA, especially when compared to what I’m used to here out west, it’s tasty, very easy to drink, and quite enjoyable, and there’s nothing wrong with that in my book.

Cascade aroma and clear orange appearence with decent sized head. Problably the last time I’ll have to be forced to buy a non-big beer here in NC. This IPA has a full bodied flavor of piney hops and citrus and does it without sacrificing its drinkability which is usual for this brewery. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Out of a bottle, courtesy Jonathan3584, thanks Jon! Aroma hoppy, citric and piney, apricot. Poured a hazy orangish copper. Taste was good, well balanced for an IPA, apricot/caramel balance well but finish is all hops. Palate was smooth and very drinkable, crisp and dry finish. A tasty extra from a trade, well worth it.

Draught. Copper color with thin head. Aroma is sublime; very rich hoppy nose almosy grapfruity. Hop flavors and bitterness are perfectly balanced with the caramel from the grains. Delicious.