Moonlight Homegrown/Greenbud Ale

Brewed by Moonlight Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Fulton, California USA

On draft. 2005. Hazy copper color with a frothy white head. It coats the first quarter of the glass then leaves heavy lace the rest of the way down. Big hop aroma of citrus, mostly orange, and pine. Hoppy as hell with a perfectly balanced malt presence. The best wet hopped beer I had this season.

Very grapefruity and slight barnyard on nose, honey/ citrusy sweetness and slight barnyard. Minor effervesence and head, almost no lacing.

Very little head tops the golden body of this brew. Wow, waht an amazing aroma. It’s bitter and hoppy, but in a spicy, herbal way. Nice mint notes with some pine. The flavor is bitter and hoppy with nice pine notes and a little mint, as well as, a little sweet citrus. Definately green tasting. Light to medium bodied, oily and dry.

Slightly cloudy copper color. Not much of a head. Pungent hop aroma--smells like the dankest of dank. Sweet malty flavor with a nice firm underlying bitterness. Big grassy hop flavor. A touch of caramel. Full bodied. An excellent IPA.

This must be a different batch than was seen on the east..Im thinking..The aroma..it bled in super sweet mango nectar..so damn sweet, showing chunks of sappy and sugary citrus hops...it poured a hazy yellow color..not much head...this shit though is bitter beyond belief...all that aroma sweetness i just mentioned...vanished..not a trace...just medicinal, grassy, alcoholic laced hop buds...they seem to be more akin to 3floyds type hops..though i see they are cascade and chinook...maybe that combo is the secret to 3floyds, i dont know...anyway..its different..the aroma kicks ass..but its bitter as bitter can be.

I sampled both the Cascade & Chinook versions of this (they were two separate beers on draught) at Toronado in San Francisco, California. They were about the same, so here’s the overall rating: Copper coloured body with a perfect sized dense tan head. Aroma of nothing but hops - a good way to tell the difference between Chinook & Cascade is to have these side by side. Medium-bodied; Sharp pungent hoppiness in the mouth, coupled with a good malt backbone and more hoppiness to finish it out. Overall, a great sampling from these wet hopped beers - I really enjoyed the mouthful and the aroma of these. Nothing missing in my mind! I sampled both of these on draught from Toronado in SF on 27-October-2007.

fresh hop nose, of course, gold-amber color, creamy head. Grapefruit sweet-bitterness. Biting hop bitter, dry. This went really well while picking hops at Brians brewery for his next homegrown ale.

Tasted at the 2004 Bistro Hop Fest. Light gold color. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is floral hops and earthy. A medium bodied IPA. Malts are fruity and sweet. Hops are grapefruity and floral with a touch of earthiness. The bitterness is all at the finish, and it fairly strong there. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is very bitter.

Tasted on tap at the 2007 Bistro Wet Hop IPA Festival. This IPA pours a light gold color. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is floral and vegetative. A medium bodied IPA. Malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are earthy and floral. Nice balance. Medium to high bitterness IPA. Crisp flavors, this of kind of grows on you. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and slightly bitter (7-4-8-4-15)