Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA

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

Bottled on date: 02/02/09. The date is very small inked on just at the top of the fat part of the bottle. (a bomber) So the beer is about 30 days old. Pours clear copper with a good one finger head. The lacings are plentiful. Aroma is piney, floral. Taste is bitter (72 IBUs) piney grapefruit orange hops with a solid malt backbone. The bitterness is relentless on the back of my tongue. Carbonation is just right and the finish is dry and bitter sweet. This is a powerful IPA. It would be interesting to put this up against some Blind Pig. If you love bitter hoppy IPAs you owe it to yourself to drink this beer. I am just about finished with the bottle and still have a nice ring of head.

12oz bottle courtesy of ckeegan04 poured into a pint glass. Pours a light golden orange with a slight haze to it. The head is large, fluffy and almost white leaving a little lacing and a small ring on the way down. The aroma is dominated by light citrus hops, especially lemons and oranges with a bit of bready malts mixed in. Thereis definitely a tropical fruit vibe in the taste as well, with lots of the same oranges and lemons from the nose. The malts form a solid backbone but the hops come back with a vengeance and leave a strong bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is smooth with soft carbonation and medium bodied. This is a very good IPA, very drinkable and dominated by citrus. The bottle went way too quickly and is a good representation of a west coast IPA. Nice.

Bottles from BevMo in San Fran. Nice golden pour with a moderate white head. Some pine in the nose but mostly a grapefruit citrus sweetness. Big hop flavor with a solid malt backbone and a nice, deep bitter finish. Hopefully this will be in Eugene soon as I see that it’s now in Portland.

Draft @ Toronado, SF. Pours a golden color with a small white head. Has a malty hoppy pine needles aroma with some hints of citrus. Malty bitter hoppy piney flavor with some grapefruit hints. Has a sweetish malty bitter hoppy finish.

Bottles of this recently showed up in the Portland, Oregon market. Colour... pours a delightful golden-amber colour with a thin ecru head. Nose... lightly piney yet redolent of a variety of hops. Palate... plenty o’ hops up front, nice malty backbone, grapefruit skin and citrus pith. Moderately bitter on the soft palate with a long, lightly resinous finish. A truly well-balanced, sessionable IPA that can appeal to hop-heads and hop neophytes, alike!

Grassy lemon with mild pine aroma and some bready caramel in the background. Pours a light gold color with a light copper hue. Off white head that dissipated with a smidgin of sediment suspension that disappeared. Concentrated taste of caramel malt and lots of hops with the flavors of pine, pine needles, and a hint of grapefruit. Other hop flavors include lemon/lime with an alcolhol warming that is not astringent. Medium bodied, resinous, and has lively soft carbonation. Very drinkable session IPA at 7.5% yum.

Bottleshared by alexsdad06. Poured clear copper color with an average frothy off-white head that lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy west coast hoppy aroma. Medium to full body with a oily slick texture with flat carbonation. Moderate to heavy bitter flavor with a moderate to heavy bittersweet finish of medium to long duration. Very good brew.

Regular IPAs and I have a troubled relationship, usually I find them too watered down, but this one here is a different story. Very pronounced and tasty and certainly more palatable than our east coasters. Smooth and bitter, most everything I want in a regular IPA. Nice to have when I’m going to be driving or in a situation where I can’t have a DIPA, but seeing as I can’t regularly get FSW here anyway, I’m still without a good session IPA.