Diamond Knot IPA

Brewed by Diamond Knot Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Mukilteo, Washington USA

Had on tap at the Diamond Knot Brewery in Mukilteo. This beer pours a cloudy orange color with a fairly medium sized white head and a very nice level of lacing. The aroma is rich with oranges, nectarines, hops and malt. Very fruity is about the best way to describe this. The flavor is thick upfront but nowhere near overwhelming. A much toned down IPA with tangerines, malt and hops mixed in with dry leaves and well..more malt. Very little in the way of carbonation to screw up the malt/hop contrast here. A toned down IPA with a mouth-puckering finish that somehow isn’t dry but more sweet than anything. Fruits and pine are all over the place here, but pine in moderation is the key word. Exceptional IPA.

IPA or India Pale Ale is the signature beer of the Pacific Northwest. These days, it is pretty easy to find an American IPA or pale ale any where in the US. But it is here in the heart of the hop growing region of the US, where brewers really have perfected this style, and bring out not only the aroma and bitterness of the hop, but manage to squeeze out the fullness of hop flavor. A great IPA isn’t all about mouth puckering bitterness, it is about hop synergy. I’ve had stellar IPA’s all over the US, but no where have I found more stellar examples than the PNW. In the 15 brewpub/breweries I visited, every IPA/pale ale I tasted was exceptional. Diamond Knot IPA just might be the best of the best in the PNW, if not the entire US. This beer is brewed with four malts and three hops and is a true bench mark of what an American IPA should be. Diamond Knot IPA pours to a beautiful, murky, copper color with a thick and creamy white head, and a vibrant carbonation. Diamond Knot beers are unfiltered and unpasturized, making them extremely fresh and delicious, especially at their source. The nose on this beer just explodes with vibrant, zesty, citric hop aromas that food the nostrils in a big way. The smell of this beer alone will floor you, but you are in for so much more when you raise the glass to your lips. When you do, you will find that this IPA isn’t one dimensional hop juice, as it is built about a rock solid base of pale, carapils, crystal, and Munich malts, This gives the beer a good buiscuty/sweet malt flavor which shares the stage with a very apparent citrus/grapefruit hop flavor under tones, that hit the back of the tongue. Diamond Knot IPA finishes with more malty/citric flavors up front, then ends with a very vibrant, zesty explosion of citric/piney hop bitterness that tattoos the back of the throat and lingers for what seems and an eternity. A phenomenal example of IPA, one of the best I have ever tasted in all my years of drinking beer. This is the type of beer that you really must experience at the source and as close to the source as possible. Precious few barrels of this beer make it to other markets, so a trip to Diamond Knot is one a beer lover just must make. If you do, you will not be disappointed as the atmosphere, food, and of course the beers at Diamond Knot are all truly special.

Growler. Golden orange in colour, nice lingering off-white head, no lace. The aroma was very hoppy (lots of citrus - orange, grapefruit - and pine), slightly floral as well. The flavour was intensely bitter, lots of piney and citrus hops, cedar, some lemon zest. Very bitter mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes with a very long and lingering bitterness. Quite nice and very refreshing.

On Tap at the brewpub. Hazy light amber, with a modest white head. Very fragrant citursy hops aroma that is strong but not harsh. Flavor is what I expected and the maltiness is a fair balance. After their sampler tray, this is what I had to have w/ my lunch. Full soft body, and perfect hopy slightly bitter trailer. It was worth the hype. Delish

(Draft: Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse in Mukilteo, WA) Well, my visit to Diamond Knot has been disappointing, having to battle the miles of ferry traffic, and then seeing only five beers on tap, but thankfully, their famous flagship IPA is pouring, so hopefully this wll make the trip worth it anyway. It pours a cloudy golden orange color with occasional carbonation bubbles rising slowly through the beer. But now as I try to appreciate the aroma of this beer, two guys next to me have ignited their cigars. I’ve moved to another part of the bar, but that’s close to the kitchen, and with no outdoor seating, I’m forced to sit next to the entrance into the actual brewing area, so all I can smell is the rich malts. Smells great, but I still can’t appreciate the actual aroma of this beer. Fate has determined that I will not get to enjoy this beer in a proper setting. Trying to get past the massively malty aroma in the air, and sticking my nose as deeply into the glass as I can, ahhhh, I smell fresh, sweet and citrusy hops. Very nice. The lightly sweet flavor is typical of the west coast, very hoppy, showing lots of grapefruit but without being overly bitter. The malty backbone is fairly light in comparison, allowing the hops to dominate. Body is medium, another indication of the lighter maltiness of this beer. The off-white head which rose to only a quarter-inch after the pour has subsided to a thin layer, but deposited plenty of patchy and intricate lacing on the glass. And just to stick a finger in my eye, two more guys have lit up cigars, and now smoke and disgusting cigar aromas fill the air. This is a great beer, worthy of the high praise, but it’s about the only positive experience about this place. All in all, it’s a great IPA if you really like a dominating grapefruity hops, sort of on the border between and IPA and a double IPA. While I’ve enjoyed it tremedously, I’ve had IPAs with more of a malty backbone, and thus better balance, so it falls short of the upper echelon to me.

On tap at the Montlake Ale House College Inn, Coopers, Maple Leaf Grill, etc in Seattle. Probably our best local IPA. Pours a lighter amber. The nose and flavor alike are a deep and rich pine/spruce, slightly citric, slighty floral hops, intense but not harsh. The mouthfeel is amply but not strongly carbonated. The finish is exceptional - a long, drawn out, hard-core bitterness with no astringency, the essence of a seriously hopped IPA. Not a whole lot of malt presence here, but that’s part of what makes this one work as a completely dry IPA, none of the cloying sweetness or sweet graininess in some of the competitors. Impressively bitter, not at all harsh, slightly thin on the palate but not disasterously so (and this makes it all the more quaffable).

Nice clear pure pale golden. Nice white head leaves an impression as it lasts a few minutes despite the 1 week age of this growler. Straightforward oily hops, citric oily sweat. Columbus I assume? Salty and biscuity combination, I kinda dig the cracker-like aspect though it hides a bit of diacetyl. I can’t say I mind terribly as this reaches toward the type of maltiness I like in a pils. Strong oily hops keep on the palate, perfumey, peachy and very sweaty. Slight astringency, good bitterness, keeping on the biscuit flavors. Low carbonation, light-medium bodied. Excellent take on the style, though I’m said this is not the best batch.

Floral, earthy, herbal, grapefruit, citrus, multi-variety hop aroma is fresh and enjoyable. Clear, deep golden coloured body with a lasting, white, fine-bubbled head. Biscuity, toasty malts appear after assertive bitterness subsides to reveal a more gentle citrus and herbal hop flavour. Some alcohol in the finish. Medium body with fair carbonation and somewhat sticky texture. Growler sampled at RBSG’05.