Marin I.P.A. India Pale Ale

Brewed by Marin Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Larkspur, California USA

i gotta admit that in the past marin hasnt really impressed me overall. however, this beer was fantastic. one of the better single IPAs ive had recently. a nice sweet caramelized malt flavor in the background, with a pine/citrus hop flavor. i find myself enjoying IPAs that arent quite so pale...IPAs that have more sweet malt flavor in the background. this fits taht category and i recommend it highly.

Sampled March 2007
Pours with an easily summoned, three-finger thick, light tan colored head. The head sits atop a brilliantly clear, cranberry tinged, copper color beer (I think my hotel light brings out the cranberry notes in a beer). A nice, sweet, citrus character wafts to my nose as soon as I pour this beer; notes of tea, berries of course lots of sweet citrus are quite noticeable even before I try and sample the aroma. Ah yes, as expected the aroma is quite pungently hoppy; notes of grapefruit, candied orange peel, sugar glazed green onions, and some herbaceous menthol notes are all quite noticeable. Though the dominant aromatics are fruit leaning, there is some nice, dank, green hoppiness here as well; luckily it plays a supporting role, so just adds to the aromatic complexity here.

A bright, sweet, caramelized malt character greats my tongue up front, but this is quickly joined by, and ultimately plays second fiddle to the hop flavors. Fruity hop notes of apricot, lychee, ruby-red grapefruit, candied orange peel, and orange flower extract are all found here. There are lots of sharper hop notes here as well; a mix of green, herbal hop character, notes of menthol, some definite pine and even a hint of raw, green, onion like flavors are here as well. A nice bitterness finishes this beer off with a nice bite. The bitterness never becomes harsh or astringent and in fact integrates quite well with the overall hop character; it is in fact not just noticeable in the finish, but plays a role here from start to finish of each sip.

What a nice brew, a paragon of IPA-hood in many respects; it captures the drinkability of the style and is definitely hoppy enough for even this oft-times hophead. It has been years since I regularly had access to Marin BC’s brews and I certainly miss having them. They make a solid line up of brews that I need to continue to track down and retry.

I personally enjoyed this beer a lot, I felt that it was a well-balanced IPA, with a pleasing floral aroma and agressive hops/pine complemented with citrus. Palate was softened by sugar and malts, making an easy finish, good to see in a westcoast IPA

Bomber pours a murky medium orange body with a small offwhite head that leaves spotty lacing. Aroma is grassy, pinecone, and grapefruit. Medium in body and carbonation. Taste opens with bitter westcoast hops, pine, cut grass, and grapefruit, but an enjoyable malt sweetness of caramel dipped orange balances well. Finishes with a fresh leafy hop bitterness. Very sessionable, with the subtle sweetness taking the rough edges off the aggressive hops.

Bomber. Made an aggressive pour, an inch of bubbly khaki head over an orange brown brew that dissipated quickly and left spotty lacing covering about a quarter of the glass. Citrus hop bomb aroma with floral and grass. Taste is pretty subdued -- thin, bitter mouthfeel, as sweet as most west coast IPAs but with a Splenda-ish dry aftertaste. Very enjoyable but something doesn’t seem to be quite right.

One of my favorite brews. I grew up near this brewery so maybe I’m biased but this beer has a crisp tart flavor with the perfect amount of hop character.

GABF-on tap-pours a foamy light tan head with hazy copper color. Aroma is citrus hops, pine. Tast is crisp citrus/grapefruit-medium hops, secondary malt. Good carbonation.

Nice IPA. Pours an amber color with a nice head. Aroma was citrusy and hoppy. Flavor was nice and hoppy as well as citrusy. Nice and bitter just how I like it. Although it wasn’t anything too special, it wasn’t bad at all, good stuff.