Ithaca Excelsior! IPAbbey

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

750 ml bottle courtesy of beastiefan2k and shared by theisti. Tasted in March ’08. Bottle # 135, bottled in April ’07. Aroma of citrus, candi sugar, pine resin. Initial flavor is resin, pine, and citrus followed by a noticeable, bordering on strong, alcohol flavor as well as citrus, pine, and resin.

Honey yeasted Belgian IPA. A good example of this new style. Though the honey yeast contributes to mouth texture, is it necessay? It moderates the IPA bitterness and overall a good balnce, integration of ideas. Worth seeking out, and a game changer for this brewery.

25.4 oz bottle, 4/07. Murky orange brown with some forced white suds. Nose like a barleywine with caramel, spice and perfume. Body close to syrupy but unfortunately almost flat. Taste is honey and toffee, lemon tea, quinine and pine. Hops, as expected, play just a supporting role but still come through. Dry yeasty finish. In spite of the age, still pretty good.

Bottle 4/07 consumed 8/08. Murky amber body, small off-white head, US hop nose with honey. Honey, bitterness, might have been oxidized with cardboard notes. Not much hop character in the flavor. According to the label, these can be cellared indefinitely; this bottle suggests otherwise.

bottle #651 2007: pours a georgeous honey orange colour with a small white head with lots of little bubbles. aroma is full of hops both pf pine and citrus, the malt plays in the background very sweet with hints of sugariness adn caramel, slight yeast. falvour is a bit thin but tasty, plenty of malt to go along with the a nice mix of hops, mopstly earthy pine finishes a bit bitter with fruitness and a touch of the yeast.

Orange-copper in colour with an off-white coloured head, good lacing. The aroma is quite hoppy, orange citrus, caramel malt sweetness, sugary with some alcohol. The flavour is warming because of the alcohol, hoppy, citrus, pine, caramel sweetness. Hoppy mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes long, warm, hoppy and sweet.

I liked this one but I don’t really see this as a IIPA. A triple with extra hops maybe. All in all quite enjoyable.

750ml bottle from the Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York.
Opened on February 18, 2008.
Released April 2007, Bottle #1017.

typical American take on a Belgian. Style. Not great, but pretty decent.dark apricot color with a light head. Nose is citrus hops. Flavor is dark fruit, hops, bitter back end. Thicker palate. sweet, molasses.

Bottle shared by ogglethorp: Pours a cloudy gold with a white head. Aroma, citrus, yeasty notes, bready, some spicy hops as well. Flavor, yeasty, spices, bready, citrus and floral hops on the finish, almost peppery. Really tasty.