Nectar Ales Nectar IPA

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Paso Robles, California USA

Medium amber color. Slightly hazy. Aromas of hops, malt and intresting esters not found in an IPA. Full bodied malt forward flavor with nice hop finish.

The bottle I had was of an ABV of 6.7 and had IPA Nectar at the top, but still mostly the same I think. Poured a decent amber with a little bit of a red hue and a white head. Has a floral/grassy hop aroma. The flavor is of a slight caramel and a crystal maltyness with hops all around. Nicely balanced with the malt and the hops are not to overpowering. A well made brew. Good for hopheads alike and for ones that like a little malt with their hops.

12 ounce bottle purchased at the Davis Food Co-Op. Aroma is more herbal hops and a bit of grapefruit-like citrus. Light sweetness and some spiciness is also there. Beautiful orange transparent body with a large, pillowy white-light yellow head that is quite persistent. Good lacing. Bit of a sweet, sugary start before it has just a little touch of skunky DMS. Becomes chewy, sweet, and full-bodied in the middle. Some hempy hop flavors along with some other citrus orange-like hop flavors follow. This is pretty well-balanced, but I can see how this would be disappointing to hop heads. Personally, I prefer an IPA to be overmalted than overhopped. Very drinkable stuff.
Earlier Rating: 9/22/2007 Total Score: 3.6
I am entering my rating for Pete’s Restaurant and Brewery IPA here. Their beer is brewed by Firestone Walker. I cannot find any information whatsoever online and I think I am missing a word or two from the name of the place. Needless to say, I emailed Firestone Walker and they did not clarify the name of this Pete’s place. What they did mention was that their IPA was, "Those beers, I believe the amber, honey blonde and IPA are what we call Private Label. So they are offered as an option to restaurants who want to have a private label beer offering. They are consistent across the line."------� 4 ounce sample at the California Brewer’s Festival in Sacramento, CA. Very pleasant aromatic, orangey hop aroma with plenty of hemp and simcoe hops present in the aroma. Very pleasant and quaffable. Transparent copper-amber body with an off-yellowish head. Orange, citrus, earthy hop flavors to start. Mild roasted malts in the middle. Becomes dry, hoppy, lightly sweet with a mild hempy finish. Pretty good stuff.

On tap. Nice amber color on the pour with a good off-white head that produced thick, sheetlike lacing. The aroma was lots of pine hops with nice hints of floral and earth. Mild citrus and malt. The flavor is of a nice California IPA. Thin malt and citrus pounded out of the way by pine hops. The mouthfeel is fine and the finish is succinct. Nice.

Feety but nice floral grapefruit and rosehip aroma. Opaque ochre pour with a medium yellow head. Full mouthfeel and bitter. Not dissimilar to ear wax. Needlessly bitter, overhopped, no balance. Nice idea, poorly done.

Poured from bottle an amber orange with a small patch of white foam that faded rather quickly. The nose is full of grass, a mild floral hoppiness and a bit of sweet malt. Initial taste has a hit of sweet caramel followed by a mild piney resin and a touch of floral hop bitterness that runs on until the end. The bitterness is very subdued and there is an almost creamy smoothness from the malt. The cascade hops are definitely around in this beer but they don’t slap you in the face like most IPA’s. Nice beer that is easy to drink. I will definitely buy more.

On tap at Woodstock’s Pizza in Isla Vista as Woodstock’s IPA, but I was told that they get the beer from Firestone Walker, so it appears to be their "Private Label" IPA at 6.7% abv. Pours amber with a little darker gold to copper in it, and an off-white head. Grassy, citric, and floral hops in the aroma, with some honey sweetness and a little dough. The flavor has some bready, pale malts with citric, spicy, and slightly piney hops. There is a medium bitterness that balances well with the full malt body, and enough hops to let you know you are drinking and IPA. None of the flavors really stick out at you, it just remains balanced and drinkable for the most part. Not an IPA for hop-heads, more of an every-mans IPA, but a well made one at that.
Earlier Rating: 3/5/2008 Total Score: 3.4
12oz bottle. Clear red amber with a small white head. Tobacco, leather, citrus and pine aroma. Piney, citrusy hops over semi-sweet malts, with a little earth. The hops are a little dominant, but not too bitter for an IPA. Medium light body with crisp carbonation. Pretty nice IPA, but typical California style, and uneventful.

ok. This stuff costs about the same as bud. I’m an ass so I made the lady give me my 1.00 back after she charged me 6.99. I would have to say that for the price you probably can’t beat this one. especially if you are a bud drinker because the abv on this site says 5.28, but the bottle says 6.7. Thats a good ass deal even for an alcoholic. and this beer doesn’t taste bad either. The pur is clear dark yellow amber with a beautiful creamy off white head. The taste seems really good but theres a strong element of fruit that comes through in the front. I didn’t like the hemp ale too much, really boring brown ale, but this one is good enough to make this easily one of the best values around. 94 might be pushing it, but it’s definately worth the price. Pick up a six pack.... warning tho, when I did the bottom of the box fell out and I lost one! This just goes to show they are putting the money where it needs to go, into the beer, not the box. night!