Jack Russell Captain Boomers IPA

Brewed by Jack Russell Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Camino, California USA

Picked this up at Total Wine in Roseville, pretty solid store just as an FYI, there are like 2 in California and by chance I hit both in a week, sweet. I picked up everything from these guys on a recommendation. To the beer, big malty IPA, not what you’d expect from NoCal but a pleasant surprise. This is very balanced for a 6.5% IPA, not over hopped and not to malty, a throwback to the original style. Big fan, next time up there i’m getting more.

Name: Captain Boomer’s IPA
Date: July 13, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Roadtrip
Appearance: muddy burnt orange, fine beige head, streaks of drippy lace
Aroma: dry malt aroma, lots of earthyness, a touch of cardbord (bought this week), light spicyness
Flavor: lightly sweet malt flavor, plenty of balancing earthyness, light bitterness, hint of fruityness
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Bottle poured a hazy golden amber with a small lingering amber head. Aromas of carmel, earthiness, light pine and light fruittiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a dry finish. Flavors of carmel, earthiness, light pine and light citrus with a smooth dry lingering moderatly bitter finish.

On tap and the Raley Field Brewfest in West Sacramento, CA. A little different than many IPA’s I’ve had. The hops are a big muted, but are there. Sweet citrus flavor with a smooth palate.

Pours cloudy caramel color with a touch of gold. HUGE frothy tan head that lingers and leaves chunks of lacing. Odd, malt nose with very little hops. The flavor is a bit better with subtle earthy hops and more caramel malt. The mouthfeel is creamy and the finish is a bit sweet.

~Pours a cloudy orange color with nice sized foamy white head. ~A pleasantly sweet scent, bready malts, fruitiness and slight hops. Interesting scent for an IPA. ~ Sweet bready malt flavor with mild citrus hops. ~Light feel, smooth. Mild finish. ~This is a strange one for an IPA. Maybe it should be labeled as something else? I am enjoying this one.

From a 12 oz bottle that cost $1.49 at Corti Bros in Sacramento, this poured an amber-orange with a medium white head and lots of lacing. Nose is a blend of citrus and floral hops, and light malts. Mouhtfeel is quite smooth and feels good in the throat. Flavor is complex, with the aforementioned hops and malts, but also tinges of fruit and other hard to identify flavors. Finish is nicely bitter, however, and over all it is a quite drinkable IPA.

Bottle. Poured a nut brown color, with a half finger of head. Must be either bottle conditioned or an old bottle, as there is a lot of sediment in the glass. This IPA doesnt really carry the nose others do. Has a very distinct nutty flavor that puts me off. Most of the sediment from the bottle are suspended throughout the beer, giving it a dirty grainy look. Overall, I’m not very impressed for a style that I love so much. Perhaps I bought a bad bottle, but I doubt I’ll revisit this with my own money.