Legend Hopfest

Brewed by Legend Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Richmond, Virginia USA

13th Anniversary bomber. This deep amber, slightly hazy brew with a thick foamy head and heavy lacing has an seriously citrusy hops aroma with light pine notes and is incredibly inviting. Taste is extreme bitter yet smooth with a gentle warmth. Bit of a citrusy acid burn at first drink but subsides to sweet hops pleasure. Excellent IPA. Probably would have loved it even more had I not had the pleasure of having it’s big brother IIPA first. That is still my first love but for $4.75 for the bomber you can’t go wrong with this baby.

22 oz bottle. 13th Anniversary. Pours copper color with white head. Aroma floral and piney hops. Taste of grapefruit and malt with a hoppy bitter after taste.

In the past week or so I discovered this on tap at both Green Leafe and Taphouse-Ghent and brought home a bomber from Bon Vivant. It’s a deep shiny red beer with a textbook rocky head ... the classic visual appeal for this genre. The aroma assaults your senses with a gigantic hop flourish, piney and citrusy. Once across the tongue, this lives up to the promise of a big, oily, resinous hop-bomb, earthy and woodsy. It has a nice smooth, silky mouthfeel. This is a great big IPA and the best I believe I’ve found from among our Virginia brewers. Good job! (#2738, 3/7/2007)

22 oz bottle. Pours an attractive dark clear amber with a perfect light beige head. Nice biscuity aroma with some medium tropical fruit-like hop character. The flavor is very pleasant and balanced; has a nice level of dark toasty caramel, breadiness, wood and hop notes of tropical fruit, pine and grapefruit. Balanced bitterness yet ample to be considered an IPA. Medium bodied with a creamy texture and lively carbonation. Good head retention. Very drinkable and satisfying overall.
Earlier Rating: 3/5/2006 Total Score: 3.9
Pours a darker shade of bronze with a thick off-white head. Neat aroma of pine mixed with mango and tropical fruits. Flavor is heavy on the side of pine and tropical fruit-y hops, grapefruit, orange peel and a big helping of toasted/caramel malt. Pleasant caramel sweetness. Plenty of lingering hop bitterness, not harsh in any way - very smooth. Medium bodied with a smooth texture and subtle carbonation. Lacing hangs on the glass in sheets, good head retention. Really tasty stuff.

On tap at the brewpub. Deep ruby amber body with a small off-white head. Sweet citrus hops aroma. Sweet citrus and floral hops flavor, lots of bitter, and a gentle caramel background.
Earlier Rating: 2/18/2006 Total Score: 3.7
Medium creamy off-white head with a clear brown body. Relatively hoppy aroma. Flavor of bitter hops mixed with sweet malt.

Bottle from Styles, July ’06. Medium deep amber colored and fairly clear. Not much head formation, no lacing. Aroma is a bit oxidized, stale hop aroma. Medium bodied with a harsh bitterness. Not really doing it for me.

Thanks to Numenor for this one! A large, light tan head tops this dark amber IPA. Bready malt aroma combines with nutty caramel and resiny hops. Moderately bitter with a good support from the malt, long, well balanced finish.

(22oz bottle) Crystal clear copper body topped by a medium, creamy beige head that diminishes but never leaves, nice lacing. Aroma is moderately sweet, pineapple/pine, some grapefruit, caramel. Taste is moderately sweet, pine, caramel, some grapefruit. Medium body with lots of resin.