Newport Storm Cyclone Series Chloe

Formerly brewed at Coastal Extreme Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Middletown, Rhode Island USA

Name: Newport Storm Chloe (Cyclone Series)
Date: 05/01/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

hazy amber, whispy white head, lightly sweet pine aroma, nice carmel sweetness with a candy quality, well balanced hop flavor, light bitterness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

12oz bottle acquired in trade (I’m not sure from who - if you sent this to me, let me know!). Poured a medium amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of pine, light caramel and lightly fruity. Not too much of a hop presence in the aroma. Tastes of grapefruit and light caramel with a medium alcohol burn. I’d call this an average IPA but not an IPA.

Shared by goldtwins on 5/01/06: Pours a slightly hazy copper orange with a nicely-lacing, lightly frothy off-white head. Aroma of pine and spruce hops has a touch of earthy malty sweetness. Body starts with good sweet crystal malty character and fresh piney green hoppy presence. Pretty good balance with some warming alcohol toward the finish. A decent double IPA, just nothing special.

Pours gold with a white head. Smells malty with some lemony hints and grassy undertones. Tastes of citrus. Not very impressive for an IIPA.

Poured a mostly clear glowing amber color with a small white head. Sweet fruity aroma had notes of candy. Hops were light and there was some alcohol notes. Light citrus hop mixed in with the malt. It had a nice taste but tasted more of an IPA. Warming in the chest. The malt was a little short. Medium body.

2006 bottle shared with OldGrowth on 3/5/06
Thick, lightly yellow-flecked white head shows fair retention, but little if any lacing. Liquid is quite clear, and a rosy-coppery orange color, with just a slight more red tones than in most double IPAs. The nose is just a huge burst of heavy floral-resinous hops, quite bitter, with little touches of dry fruits (nectarines, apricots) and some light munich-like malts. Quite one-sided, the malt just comes off as dry/sour, while the hops just bombard you with the aforementioned floral-resin. The flavor is more of the same. Tons of high-alpha acid bitterness, stinging acid on end, dry and unbalanced, with little malt sweetness. Grainy munich malt never seems to be able to balance an already heavily dry, bitter hop assault and this is no exception. Some light breadiness builds as well as a mix of crystal and pale malts, but the hoped-for sweetness as it warms never really appears (some light stickiness is about the extent of it). Moderately watery texture, average carbonation and just not enough malt. White grapefruit and orange rinds build on the end. Alcohol is well-concealed, yeast is not apparent.
Not trying to single out Newport (because almost all brewers do it), but this beer is a prime of example of how hopping the hell out of a beer just dosent cut it. Anyone can throw a ton of hops in to a beer. Russian River, AleSmith and Pizza Port show that a beer can be every bit as hoppy as the next guy, but also balanced and complex.

Split 6-pack with DYCsoccer17 up in Ct. Pours a slightly hazy wieght peachy gold with a white sticky head that eventually fades. Aroma is actually not as hoppy as expected in a big IIPA. Sticky sweet caramel malts, but even those arent that intense, then the light citrus and floral hops come in but are still nothing special. It almost seems like this might have been old and not quite as fresh as it should be, then I see some of the ratings and style percentile and think- yeah maybe its just not that great. Either way- for such a huge 8.6abv IIPA you should have more than 56 IBU’s which is what it says it has on the bottle. Flavor is a bit bland and therefore allows the alcohol to come through. Ok overall, and easy enough to drink, but not anywhere close to where it shoudl be for a IIPA.

Pours a hazy orange with a smallish head. Active carbonation tingles the tongue. The aroma is a bit musky in the hop area, but also has a tingling citrus quality. Lively bitterness backs up a solid malt body. Something keeps it from being really good though. I just can’t place it.