Cottonwood Endo India Pale Ale

Brewed by Carolina Beer Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Mooresville, North Carolina USA

Geez, impressed by this local brewry (to me). Poured out a sexy dark amber. The aroma was a nice subtle combonation of hops, wet forest and flowers. The flavor was quite suprising, geez, it tasted of the high end IPA’s. A wonder flavor and taste of an ale and tastey IPA. I was not expecting this from Cottonwood (the brewery). I can’t believe I rated this so high, whats happening to me? I love Porters/Stouts, but these IPA’s keep seducing me.!

Bottle. Pours a quite dark amber color. The head is an inch thick, and beige in color. Nice sticky lacing. The aroma is surprisingly malty, with some restrained hops. The flavor was a bit thin, with some grapefruit and citrus, immediately followed by a bitter finish. Where did the maltiness of the aroma go?

Decent but, um, not great. I don’t have much sympathy for mediocre IPA’s, being that there are so many good ones, and it doesn’t seem like a particularly complicated style. Thumbs in the middle.

Sample at Sleepy Bear tasting 09/30/06 - Aroma is sweet chewy carmel and light hops. Pours copper with a small head and decent lacing. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is sticky. Not a bad IPA, bit more hops would be nice.

12oz bonus from NachlamSie, no date. Pours a clear copper orange with a two finger light yellowish head. Aroma is of some caramel malts, cirtus and piney hops. Nothing overly impressive. Flavor is much the same with a little bit of dirt and some chalkiness. Light to medium bodied, lighter carbonation. This never gets sweet, and has mild to moderate bitterness in the finish. As far as IPAs go, this one doesn’t stand out.

Orange/copper pour...hazy with a light tan head that holds for a good amount of time. Thick, sweet, caramely aroma... abit of smoke but not a whole lot of fresh hop aroma. The flavor though holds a decent citrusy/grapefruit bitterness... a bit of grass and a lot less caramel malt than the aroma leads onto. Decent well-carbonated body that holds a few watery parts in the middle of the tounge...a bit of sour soapiness torwards the finish. Overall, not a bad brew, although it feels ther’s a lack of balance that makes this more bitter than refreshing.

Looks more red than I am used to. Nice hop aroma with some grassy tones. Well balanced malt/hop profile. A slightly bitter finish and not very complex. Drinkable ipa but not a lot of bit.

From notes 4/1/03: Usual suspects in the IPA Color department: copper/orange. Massive fluffy head of foam that settled down about halfway through to a modest 1/2 inch of fluff. Intricate latticework left behind in my glass. Aromas are the typical IPA variety: very much so piney, citrusy (mainly grapefruit), a smidge of a soap feel, and some floral. The taste follows suit with a "piney grapefruit" feel. The malt flavor pretty much takes a back seat to the hops here. The aftertaste is a little brisk. A tad harsh. More of the soap quality pokes through for my liking. This knocks the drinkability a bit, but all-in-all a pretty good IPA from a region that doesn’t produce many world-reknown beers.