Drakes Aroma Coma

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
San Leandro, California USA

On tap at Taps grand opening. Great diversified hop flavor. The double dry hopping adds the extra dimension excellent beer.

Aroma Coma Tasted on tap at the Bistro 12th Annual IPA Festival on 8/8/09. This IPA poured an orange gold color from the tap. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is orange and citrus and a touch floral. A medium sized IP. Malts are fruity and sweet. Lots of orange and citrus. Hops are citrusy and floral. Lots of bitterness. Nice balance. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth, Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Draft. Rich amber beer with a whitish head. Sumemr fruit and light pine aroma. Tangerine and grapefruit flavor with light pine. Medium bodied. Good bitterness. Orange, tangerine, and grapefruit lingers with light pine.

The aroma on this one is fruityskunky - for lack of a better non-word. Not using the bitter hops, this one cashes in on the aromatic hops. Beautiful in that regard. If you fear IPA’s because of the bitterness, try this one. Clean, smooth and aromatic. The flavor is dank green bud but ends dry. Pours orangish copper with white head.

Draft at the Bistro’s IPA Fest. Lightly hazy yellow amber with a medium white head. Nose of floral, light pine, and a hint of caramel. Flavor was light bitterness with some balancing caramel.

Draught at the Bistro IPA fest. Amber with a light haze and a lasting head. Big grapefruit and toasty malt aroma. Nice smelling stuff, and I can see where the name came from, though it has more punch than more nuanced fruit than I like in IPAs. There is a solid toasty maltiness that counters a strong bitterness and grapefruit and kumquat hop flavors. On the robust side and a little over-carbonated. A nice, punchy IPA with a big smack of hops in the aroma. The mouthfeel does hold it back a little though.

Tap at City Beer in SF a few months ago, then again recently at the ’09 Bistro IPA Fest in Hayward, CA. Fairly dark brown color for the style with an off-white head. Aroma is hoppy with strong citrus, a little pine, and some sweet caramel malt. Flavor is more of the same, malt largely caramel, with C-hops that lend lots of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. Really tasty. Somewhat light on the palate compared to what you’d expect.

Tasted at the Bistro IPA fest. The aroma on this one was very fruity and piney. The taste was the same, but much more delicate than the other IPA’s. Lighter bodied too. Nice and refreshing if not that impressive.