Mt. Hood Ice Axe IPA

Brewed by Mt. Hood Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Government Camp, Oregon USA

Sampled on a recent northwest trip. Pleasant citrus hopiness, but very mellow smooth/sweet flavor. A hint of dry bitterness in the finish. Copper color with a white head.

One of the whimpiest IPAs I have ever had. More of an amber ale flavor. Minor hops with some amber malt, balanced on the side of malt. Lightly bitter, but watery finish was dissipointing. Needed a lot more flavor and direction with the hops. None of the citrus or even piney hops that I would expect. Thin, with mild alcohol taste.

Had this on tap at the Ice Axe Grill in Government Camp, OR. Colour... dark golden. Nose... gentle hops and light oak. Palate... nice hop bite up front, some oak mid palate and a rather alcohol-ish finish for such a low ABV.

Its okay. The hops are good, and its pretty in a glass. But confused mouth especially with the extra pale ale like buttery cask flavor.

Draft at the Horse Brass. Nothing at all wrong with this beer except that it really doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up. Pours a beautiful murky burnished medium amber with a dense and creamy tan head. Nice mild fruity nose, some subdued and apricot and peach there, along with some sweet doughy malts. Creamy medium body. The doughy malt’s there again, tangled up with the apricots and peaches in the middle distance. Nobody’s up top here. Nobody’s just an accent. It’s just kind of a few familiar flavors thrown in the basket and shaken around until they’re distributed evenly. Feels like somebody’s first successful, clean IPA that’s worth serving to friends--rather than a clear set of strong stylistic choices that led to a business decision.It’s good from a QA perspective, it just needs to make a name for itself somewhere.

Deep amber coloured body with a nice perfect tan head! Lighter hop aroma with mostly bitter scents and some malt tucked in. Medium-bodied; Decent hop taset with a nice balance throughout. Smooth aftertaste - almost like an APA. Nice start for my first beer ever in Portland. I sampled this beer on draught at Henry’s 12th Street Tavern in Portland, Oregon on 09-September-2006!

Sampled on tap at the Horse Brass. Amber pour with a small white head and mild lacing. Big hop and malt smell with some orange thrown in for good measure. Kind of weak and mild for the style and not something I’m a huge fan of in general.

Tap @ Rams Head Bar in Timberline... Poured amber/orange with a thin, white head. Aroma was full of hops and bread-like grains. Foamy and big mouthful, plenty of hop flavors. Otherwise, nothing to allow this IPA to stand out. Finished with a leafy and herbal taste. I would of loved to have seen a bolder brew like an IIPA or a Barley Wine given the mountain and all, something to warm you right up. Perhaps at the Ice Axe Pub down in Government Camp.