Golden Valley Chehalem India Pale Ale

Brewed by Golden Valley Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
McMinnville, Oregon USA

22 oz bomber. Pours hazy amber with a moderate white head that left minimal lacing. Aroma is slightly soured fruits, oranges, lemon and floral hops. Flavor is sweet and tart, tastes slightly soured fruit again, with bold hop profile and a lingering tart aftertaste. I don’t know, this bottle could be on the edge of turning, or maybe it’s supposed to be this way. Medium body and creamy carbonation.

Deep gold in color with very little head from bottle pour. AVerage grapefruit and orange aroma. Flavor to match with a touch of honey from the malt. Hoppy finish that made you feel like you had an IPA.

Poured a medium, cloudy amber color with a smaller off white head. Aromas of oranges and very light grapefruit. Tastes like it smells - oranges with light grapefruit. All citrus. Lightly sweet and very lightly bitter. Weaker body. Not the bitterness I come to expect out of an IPA.

Amber under a weak beige head. The aroma was weak hops and citrus. Light bodied and watery texture. Flavor was watered down IPA.

(22 oz bottle: $3.50, Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) Hoppy and bitter, but less bitter than I was expecting. One thing I’m not crazy about is the flavor of the hops -- it’s all citrus, but it’s not an especially pleasant flavor. The other problem, for me, is that there isn’t enough balancing maltiness, so though the hops isn’t crazy strong, it still is by far the dominant flavor. There’s also a fairly prominent soapiness alongside the citrusy hops. Minimally sweet, and very dry on the palate from start to finish. Hoppy, citrusy, lightly floral, and a bit soapy in the nose. Golden orange in color and fairly hazy. Pours a big, foamy, off-white head that slowly settles down to a solid layer that stays in one chunk even when lightly swirled. Lots of rings lacing is left on the glass. Too dry and not malty enough for me, but if you like pure hops, you might enjoy this one.

The beer after its relocation from the 22-ounce brown bottle set s in my glass a hazy amber color with a smallish semi-creamy light tan head that evaporates quickly leaving a thin but covering sheet of lace. Nose has a light floral aroma, mostly malt detected, fresh and clean, start is sweet with a personable malt profile and the top medium in its feel to the palate. Finish is politely acidic with the hops pleasantly spicy and the aftertaste dry, a light to middle of the road IPA, drinkable at any rate.

I have to say, the taste of this IPA really let me down. My hopes were soaring due to a great cascade hop aroma, nice darker orange color and a tall off-white head. Then the taste was very thin and didn’t have enough malt to balance it out. Some grapefruit in the aftertaste but just not well balanced.

I am so mad! I was just in Mcminnville yesterday and had no idea of this brewery. It’s ironic because I just happen to have this particular beer in the fridge and didn’t even know where it was made! Oh well... Anyway, poured amber/orange with lively carbonation and lots of yeast. Dry, fruity hop aroma. Light malt sweetness with mild hop flavors. Some citrus and grapefruit taste. Somewhat acidic (due to the intense carbonation). Not a very powerful IPA, but still pretty good.