Left Hand Warrior IPA

Brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Longmont, Colorado USA

On tap at the Pony bar w/ Kara. Not as flavorful as the IPA I had before this Ballast Big Eye IPA. Decent head and lacing. Flavors of clementine and and juicy hop. Not as bold, or astringent as I would like.

Bottle from North End Market. First of all, AWESOME label (not the one pictured, it’s way cooler now). Bomber into glass pours a super clear orange/amber with an initial 2 finger off-white and airy head that quickly deflates to a 1/4 inch ring. Really sticky so it laces nicely with some bubbles. Aroma is like a freshly peeled clementine dipped in honey. Flavor is more muted than the aroma but the bitterness of the hops balances out the sweetness. Slightly warming afterwards. A very nice IPA and offering from Left Hand.

Bottle 65cl. @ home.
Light unclear medium orange color with a average to large, frothy to creamy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to light heavy malty, caramel, moderate to light heavy hoppy, citrus, orange, sharp. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and peel bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light metalic. [20091118]

Kudos for not-a-taste-bud-destroying-IPA. You really have to dig deep to get a good nose on this one but it is there if you are willing to get some foam up your nostrils. Classic amber on this pour from a 22 with generous head and nice lacing that stayed around long enough for me to type this. I’d say break your girlfriend in with Sam Adam’s Lager then upgrade her to this beer when you’re both ready.

Bomber. Yellow gold. Thick white head. Aroma is odd and earthy with grass and citrus. Flavor is easy with late bite of floral and fruit oriented hops. Lighter hops than expected. No balance with only very light malts of little depth.

In short: A basic IPA with a herbal and acidic fruits hops signature. Unexceptionally drinkable.
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed relatively fresh about 2 months after purchase
The look: Clear golden body topped by a medium off-white head
In long: Hoppy nose blends green grass, grapefruits and oranges. Body is rather lean, they went easy on the malts here. Carbonation is a bit too soft. Taste is soft white bread, sweetened orange juice, grapefruits, some metallic notes, a little caramel, herbal hops, hard candies. The finish is very sharp with a short medium bitterness and medium acidity. I have a hard time figuring out the Warrior hops as I don’t seem to find the commonalities between the various Warrior hopped IPA I’ve had. This one was overall very herbal and tangy and with an orange/grapefruit acidity. This is an ok beer but overall it is barely an average American IPA. Not a Warrior that would win any war. But then again, beer has never won any wars, it is however at the origin of a lot of fights.

Pouring a darker amber with a quarter of head that seems to stay around pretty well. Also has nice head retention there as well. Lots of hops on the nose with subtle malts there. Not much else. Very bitter on the front and through the finish. Not balanced though and almost does not seem that fresh for a fresh hop type ale. Being what they are trying o do with this beer I can’t say that I was too impressed but definitely check it out.

new batch on tap 11/5/09 at papago... fiery copper color beneath a sticky white head. smells crazy... like fresh uncut golden pineapple mixed with pine, citrus, flowers, spice and caramel-y sweet grains. it tastes about the same... pineapple again with a nice juicy bitterness on the finish. it does get a bit overly sweet at times. the medium to full body doesn’t help this out at all... thick (at times) and a little hard to drink. 7/3/6/2/14/3.2