Ithaca Excelsior! IPAbbey

Formerly brewed at Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Ithaca, New York USA

I was completley unimpressed. My notes describe the beer as a "wall of dirt" and "hard to drink."

Thin, off-white head, no retention, spotty lacing. Clouded dark amber pour with caramel liquid hues. the aroma is most similar to a piney PNW American pale ale. The grains/malt seem nicely attenuated. Following: soft Belgian malt is mostly covered by hoppiness but still apparent(not even a diligent search is necessary, contrary to the opinions of my tasting companions). Notes of resin, freshly picked cotton fields(hmmm, where’d that come from?), lightly toasted grains and citrus(grapefruits and unripe oranges). Scratchy, burned caramel in the flavor is dueling with resiny bitterness for the focal point of the taste. Sweetness is mild to moderate and uninviting. Acidity is too high, supporting a drying astringency; it was pretty good up to this point. Soft but full carbonation and a medium to medium-full body. Lightly viscous finish, resin lingering, soft malts and mild yeast esters beyond that.

Courtesy jayg. Bottle #259. Bottled 4/07. Abbey Tripel? Hardly. This one screams IPA in all respects. Orange-amber, cloudy body. Small, bubbly, off-white head. The aroma shows fresh, lively orange hops with hints of pine resin, faint caramel malts, and fruity yeast. Flavor shows primarily the same, with tons of crisp citrus fruitiness and acidity followed by caramel malts and a bevy of flowery tastes. Bitterness is moderate, though adequate enough to provide good balance. Smooth, medium mouthfeel and body with a clean citrus finish. Very ice brew, though it resembles a Tripel about as much as I resemble Shaquille O’Neal.

Pours a nice amber color with a small white head. Love the aroma of the hops.Grapefruit nose. Lots of grapefruit on the flavor with a small hop bitter finish.

Bottle... Murky amber ale with a small, wispy, off-white head. Earthy, fruity aroma with notes of peach, tropical fruits, PNW hops and damp leather. Well-balanced by moderate toffee sweetness and an equal amount of grapefruit pith bitterness. Medium to full-bodied with medium carbonation. Mid-length, snappy finish. Seems like a PNW IPA to me; nice juicy hops with good balance and no tripel-like esters or phenols. A big SHOUT goes out to jayg for sharing his bottle of this fine IPA!

Courtesy jayg. Pours a cloudy orange.red with a small off white head. Smells of juicy grapefruit hops, other citrus fruit. Maybe a little spice too. The taste has a big spice character to it as well, with a bunch of hops, and grapefruit citrus. Definitely get a good dose of caramel sweetness hanging around too. Mild bitterness in the finish and lingering in the aftetaste. I definitely dont taste any tripel characters, mostly all IPA characters. Mislabeled in my opinion. Pretty good beer though.

At last! An Ithaca beer I can get excited about. Ithaca Beer is Gorges, and all that. Great deep orange body, small white head, wonderful lacing. Nose of sweet malts, grapefruit, and pine. Taste of sweet malts and caramel, oranges and more oranges, with a long, long bitter finish. Good full mouthfeel. Liked it more and more as I worked through the bottle. And still more bitterness in the finish. Delightful.

Deep crimsony orange, creamy white head. Sweet hop nose loaded with pine, grapefruit zest, and vanilla, with underlying tones of brown sugar and warm honey bread throughout. Intense citrus and pine flavors blend with soft sugary spiced peachy vanilla tones. Full bodied and slick, medium carbonation, bittersweet finish. An interesting and unique take on this hybrid that worked very well for me. An after dinner sipper for sure...