Left Hand Warrior IPA

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

Very sweet malt aroma. The flavor is also pretty sweet with a good dose of hops in a dry finish. It’s well done, but a bit 2-dimensional for the style.

BOTTLE: orange / golden pour, small head. Citrus hop on the nose, some biscuit on taste + caramel, Very nice IPA.

22 oz bottle. Pours a copper orange color with a small white head. Nose is hoppy, citrusy and biscuity. palate is lightly fizzy and playful. flavor is hops, nothing but. all citrusy hops and a hint of biscuity malt on the finish.

Pours reddish-amber with a frothy off-white head that fades leaving cropcircles. Aroma is dull, possibly a two year old bottle. The slight orange hop aroma there is has been masked by a caramel aroma. I can tell that it would taste great fresh but it is mostly a bitter hop with not much zing to it. Has a lingering bitter finish that is slightly roasty. Overall not the most robust IPA ever.

Bottle split with curly. Definiely has some age on it, at least a year or two. Pours a clear amber with fair off-white head. Nose is very muted hops,which are completely hidden by the massive caramel and dogfood overtones, similar to that of a scotch ale. Flavor still has some orange citrus, piney hop, and a little metallic. Semi bitter finish. Would love to have this fresh.

On tap at the Flying Saucer in KC. Pours a ruby body with a dense and foamy, tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves lots of layered lacing. Really nice looking. Aroma is not the warrior I had hoped for. Moderately sweet caramels and darker toffees. Melony with weaker citrus and a bland pine covered up by the sweeter malts. Flavor isn’t too much more warrior-like. Starts with some darker caramels and toffee before moving into the resiny, weak piney citrus. The bitterness is balancing in that the malts don’t dominate, but the hops could probably double and still be well balanced. Finishes dry with a light pine, toffee, melon, citrus aftertaste that doesn’t go on very long. Medium bodied and smooth. Overall, a fairly decent tasting IPA, but pretty boring. The hops are there, but too much dark toffee and not enough aggression. If only the taste was as exciting as the appearance. Ugh, Left Hand is just blah.

22oz bottle from Total Wine (Tampa, FL). Pours a hazy caramel brown amber color with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of citrus, grapefruit, caramel, some hints of spice and honey. Flavor is sweet and floral with stronger malty notes but still nice notes of citrus, grapefruit, light pine, caramel and light spice. Generally medium body with a floral hop finish.

Location: 22 oz botle from Westover Market in Arlington, VA, 5/30/09

Aroma: Citrus hops, light fruity nose
Appearance: Hazy darkish orange color
Flavor: A decent hoppiness with some sweetness to balance it out
Palate: Medium body, drinks pretty decently
Overall Impression: I thought this was a decent IPA, not the top of the style, but a nice enough beer.