Coronado Islander Pale Ale (IPA)

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

Bottle from South Bay Drug. Darkish gold color witha nice off-white head. Fresh floral and fruit aromas. Medium body with mild, near creamy, carbonation. Flavor is very floral with some citrus fruit, and it is a bit astringent. The hop is strong and persistent, but not burningly bitter. Until some time passes. The hop is really fresh, really tasty and really builds up bitter. A much better than average IPA. And Joey ships fresh stuff.

Draft at Main Tap. NIce citrus and grassy aromas. Flavor was similar, but not quite as nice. Still some grass, but less fruit. Not horrible.

Bottle; pours a clear orange with a somewhat frothy whitish head; large amound of lacing. Aroma was citrus and grapefruit, some caramel, with a noticable Coronado yeast strain. Man we sure are spoiled here in San Diego; glad to be back. Just another solid IPA; probably not as good as Sculpin or Alpine Duet, but really good close. I have had the other two in the last few days. Very nice earthy bitterness in the finish that lingers for a while. Some herbal and grassy elements stick to the mouth. Caramel at the beginning then citrus. Good stuff.

Pours with a rich copper-amber color and is topped by a frothy, initially three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. When I hold my 25cl tulip glass up to the light the beer shows a slightly hazed, full gold / copper color. The aroma is a nice punch of citrus and pine like hops that takes a decidedly herbal turn upon the second smell of the aroma. Aromas of sweet-ruby-red grapefruit, concentrated tangelo oil, lychee, a distinctly green herbal note, sticky hemp oil aromatics, freshly ground pine needles, dusty crushed pale malt and a touch of cracker like character are all noticeable. This definitely has an up front hop fruit character to it, but the herbal, sharper hop aromatics seem to be the more dominant notes here.

Lightly sweet flavors accentuate a nice fruitiness up front, but this is quickly dominated by a green, herbal hop character that comes to dominate a lingeringly bitter, lightly astringent finish. Up front flavors of peach, lychee and candied grapefruit zest are ultimately dominated by sharp hop notes of pine-tar, hemp oil and dank herbal flavors that just coat the mouth and really linger on the palate. While the sharper hop flavors are more focused here, this does not get harsh or overbearing (at least if you are a hop head) and in fact are fairly well balanced (in a super hoppy, IPA sort of way) by the malt character. The malt provides a touch of sweet pale grain, cracker / pale biscuit like malt and a body that really serves to carry the hop character here.

This is nice and drinkable & really is a great example of a hop focused IPA. I might prefer a slightly more fruit balanced IPA, but this is still a damn good beer that easily lives up to the San Diego IPA terroir.

Purchased: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach CA

A nice hoppy bitter aroma. This is pretty bitter. Not a lot of balance but still drinkable. The hops stay for a long time in the finish.

On tap at Toronado during the RBSG Pub Crawl Tour on 08/01/2008. Very clear golden amber body with a medium creamy off-white head that persists. Big floral and citrus hop aroma. Big hop flavor, citrus, floral, and some caramel. Medium full body with moderate carbonation.

From a 22 oz. bottle purchased locally. Aroma is piney, citrusy, and a little spicy. Honey golden amber with a small off white head and very clear. Head clings to the glass. Big hop flavor, pine and citrus and a bitterness to back up the malt. Malt is initially sweet, but is pushed aside by the bitterness, followed by toasty biscuit malt flavors. Dry finish with a little lingering pine from the hops. Very nice, heading into the imperial version of the style.

Draft… RBSG ’08… Clear golden ale with a mid-sized, creamy, white head. Great retention. The aroma is all about fresh, juicy, grapefruit. Full-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Leans way onto the bitter side of balance. Tannic grapefruit pith and rind. Lengthy, medium-bitter finish.