Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Paso Robles, California USA

Another big thanks to cloudskipper for this brew. Huge, wonderful hop nose with just about everything you’d want in a IPA. Flavor is pretty sexy, but not quite as good. A very solid IPA.

The smell is caramel, hops, pine, citrus, and pine neddles. The look is clear, good beige head, and a golden in color. The taste is a nice bitterness, caramel, pine, and citrus.

Gold in color with a good sized off-white head. Aroma is of citrus, pine, and spicy hops. Taste is pine and grapefruit. Nice bitterness in the finish.

Clearly I am the easily suggestible type because I assumed (based on the name I guess) that this was made with British hops. I scribbled down some notes which said "big UK hop aroma, but obviously done in the US style" - whatever that means now that I know it’s made with nearly every classic American hop. Clearly I have no idea what I’m on about. Anyway, the hop aroma was definitely big and resiny regardless of origin. Lovely clean pale malt flavours, with an almost vanilla-like edge, minimal yeast influence and a lovely oily hop flavour throughout with great bitterness, hinting at lavender. A fairly stark reminder of just how far ahead of the game the Yanks are when it comes to good IPAs. These guys are really good - a seriously underrated brewery in my mind.

orange under a small white head. hoppy grapefruit, peach, lemon aroma. nice full body. flavor has lots of malts balanced with peachy, piney hops.

Bottle. Pours clear orange amber with a decent white head. Grapefruit and pine in the nose and taste. Medium-bodied with a nice hop finish. Re-rate: Cask at Elysian’s SBW Firkin-Firkin throwdown (vs. Big Time Scarlett Fire). Pours clear amber with a small white head. Floral/pine /funky citrus nose. Taste is pine hops and pineapple sweetness. Nice bitter pine finish. I liked this a little better than the Big Time.

650ml bottle from Freddy. Bottled on date 02-12-09. Pours a translucent orange-brass color with a fair sized white head that has good retention. The aroma is medium in strength with pine, caramel, earthy hops and a bit o peat. The taste showcases the pine nicely, rounding out the sides is citrus, caramel, rock candy and toffee. The finish is long and biter with lingering cascade hops. The mouthfeel is smooth and a bit oily. Overall: A very tasty and well concocted IPA.

Appearance: Pours a clear, golden body with a thin, white, bubbly head. Smell: Pungent earthy, herbal pine needles and soggy grapefruit rinds blanket the lesser aroma of pale malt. Taste: Pale malts along with a rather subdued caramel sweetness. Profuse hop flavors of citrus fruits and herbaceous pine thoughtfully deliver a nice pinch of medium-high bitterness. Finishes appropriately dry with a long, lasting bitterness. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Just a tad bit oily in the mouthfeel. Drinkability: Goes down surprisingly easy (and quickly) for being a 7.5% ABV. A solid, competent India Pale Ale.