Drakes Batch 1500 Pale Ale

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

A careful pour of the bottle still brings up a two inch light tan rocky head with a copper body and gold edges. The pour shows signs of an infected bottle. The aroma is a pulse of grapefruit tartness, orange peel and lemon with a faint mix of caramel, grainy malts and nuttiness in the background. The taste begins with grapefruit hops and quickly becomes more tart with lemon acidity. By midway the malts make an appearance and smooth out the tartness for a moment or two with roasted malts and nuttiness. The hop tartness and mild acidity retake the flavor with some malt roastiness taking the experience to the finish. If it was infected I still enjoyed the ride.

12oz bottle from SBD. Pours clear copper with a billowing, fluffy offwhite head, great retention good lace. Smells earthy hoppy with nice caramel malts and a touch of metal. Tastes light and sweet citrusy hoppy. SLightly sweet, slightly bitter with a nice malt backbone. Pretty astringent. Medium with vibrant carb that fades quick.

12oz bottle from South Bay Drugs. Pours a murky golden amber color with a frothy off white head that left great lacing. Nose was sweet with some citrus and floral hops. Flavor was of citrus and malt. Finish was very crisp and drinkable.

<i>Courtesy of KieferUGA</i>

Bottle: Big pine and earthy hoppiness with some faint grapefruit in the aroma. It pours a transparent amber with a small off-white head. The flavor starts with moderate fruit and caramel. Moderate citrus hopped finish with some light pine. Light-medium bodied with soft carbonation.

DTM scored this bottle in SoCal. Funny enough, we’re closer to the brewery, and I’ve never seen it. Come on Ledgers!... I’m still confused why they call it the 1500 Pale ale if it’s an IPA. Maybe aspidites can explain it to me. Hell of a palate, citrusy, and nice bitter hop to it. Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga, burp-burp!

Bottle from SBDL; amber in color with a nice, medium to large sized, frothy, white head. Aroma was nice and balanced; citrus/grapefruit, caramel/biscuit and flowers. Flavor had a good amount of biscuit/caramel backbone. Hops lacked great flavor; more earthy than anything (although some fruit and citrus). Good palate. A weird vegetable component to this one which I didn’t really like. That being said; good aroma, but mediocre flavor.

Bottle from South Bay. Dark amberish in color. Huge hop aroma. Pine and grapefruit present. Somewhat dry hoppiness with some peppery qualities. Really dry, stark finish. It’s good to see such a highly hopped brew with a low abv.

Bottle… Mostly clear, deeply golden/amber ale with a mid-sized, frothy, white head that never quite disappears. Leaves thick, creamy lacework on the glass. Earthy, citrusy, piney nose with an undertone of biscuit. Medium-bodied with an acerbic mouthfeel and tickling carbonation. The flavor is of biscuit malt buried under a ton of tannic, earthy hop intensity. Lengthy, bitter, arid finish.