Coronado Idiot IPA

Brewed by Coronado Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Coronado, California USA

It may be big, it maybe a little brash, but boy is this a seriously good DIPA. Looks fine in the glass, not a massive head but a pretty big bugger, nice and dense and creamy. Aroma is on the button. Loads of hop goodness, with definite orange sweetnes, florals, lemon-citrus, pine, resin, really tropical aromas, maybe a bit of peach, perhaps some bitter lychee. Great complexity. Aroma is balanced by a background sweetness, slightly candied in nature, also some thick matiness in there too, but obviously the hops suppress the malt. I should point out here that this is my second bottle, and without any doubt this second one seem to be alot hoppier than the first! Instant smack of bitter hops, but the ferocity is hidden well with a lush mouthfeel and delivery. First up very grapefruiy hops with a touch of earthiness, then there’s some boiled sweets, more orange but this time more like a bitter blood-orange or pink grapefruit, definite peachy quality to this one. The hops are bitter but quite rounded... Ten the malts show themselves momentarily just to add a little balance and touch of sweetness, but aid massively in creating a lovely bit of body, here you get some lovely caramel and toffee which really tastes devine when you burp (it’s not a sick thing to say, Oz Clark explained that burping is the correct way to taste beer, this is due to taste buds that line the thrat that aren’t often used, so there!) Anyway, the malts give a lovely vanilla wafer like quality to the brew. Finish is most definitely bitter, but also most definitely addictive, the beer beckons for sip after sip. Palate is just right, not as thick and soupy as some of the IIPAs I’ve tried recently e.g. Steamworks Conductor IPA, but I quite like the slightly lighter style here, with the hops involved it needs a mid/full bodied approach so as not to totally overwhelm the palate. Big US IPA’s/DIPA’s take a bashing, especially in the UK, but I’m an unashamed enthusiast for the style, so two fingers up to anybody who has a problem with beers like this. This is sexy, rich well made, exotic, hops to the hilt beer and it rocks!

Draught at Beer Works Osaka IPA Challenge. Very malty, strong aroma, with caramel and alcohol. Citrus hops. Fruity and sweet with tons of citrus and some passion fruit. Big and strong and very drinkable.

Bottle 65cl. @ Chriso’s pre GBBF Shindig ’09.
Clear medium orange amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, moderate to heavy hoppy, citrus - orange, pine. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090801]

Pours a dark orange gold. Nose is pine hops, hints of citrus, and plenty of fresh cut grass. Taste is pretty poor. Huge harsh hop bitterness, all flavor is blown apart by an extremely harsh bitterness. no distinct flavor, lots of clashing. left half of the pint on the table.

Bottle @ pre-GBBF shindig, August 2009. Typical big, brash, bold, boozy West Coast IPA. Packed with fat resinous, piney hops throughout. The malt backing is, as is often the case, sweet and a bit sticky. I can blow hot and cold with this type of beer. sometimes I find them a bit too much. On this occasion, after a run of mediocre canned lagers, it was just what I wanted. How did I guess that SilkTork would have the lowest rating for this beer!? The plant is doing fine though.

Bottle at Chriso pre-GBBF tasting 09. Arh yes, the Idiot Patrik Ale. Gold/amber with thin white head. American hop aroma. Pretty decent hop on mouth, esp on the end. Lovely hops all over, decent malts. Really good lovely hops. Went in search for more. 4.1 Re-rate. I did in fact went in search for more and found it at Utobeer for £9.80. But so worth it. Scum of dry hop around the lip of the bottle when I opened it. Unattractive hazy copper. Lasting thin beige. I love the big sweet piney resiny hop aroma. Chris thinks the malts are a bit sweet and I guess they are to an extent but that could just be the alcohol coming through too. Yes a bit boozy, but happy to ignore this fact for the symphony of resiny super hops. I’m an idiot for liking something so big. I don’t think unbalanced though. I mean it’s no Nanny State. In terms of big double IPAs, I love it. Maybe not quite as good as Hercules or Double Simcoe, but I do like it very much. Burping hops as you drink it is lovely.

GABF 2009, Real good IIPA, Aroma was lacking the hop presence that the flavor was full of. Big hop flavor & bitterness, malts balance everything nicely. Real nice beer

On tap. It has quite beautiful and charming texture. Beautifully mariaged Juicy and grassy hop shake my brain. I can see brewers’ soul the stracture stands from beginning to end. Smooth mouthfeel. Aftertaste my tongue is clean more than I think.Well drinkable. I want refill if I don’t have work tomorrow.