Newport Storm Summer Ale (Maelstrom IPA)

Brewed by Coastal Extreme Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Middletown, Rhode Island USA

2004 bottle. Clear, filtered pour, light yellow with some very light orange and almost green tints. Perhaps a hint of light rosy peach tinges as well. Rapidly disipating white head. Aroma of citrus hops, predominantly lemon and orange rind. Opens up with a chewy, sweet caramel flavor redolent of one of those caramel chews that came in a square. Loses some of the caramel and fades to honey-sweet pils malt, with a touch of earthiness from the Maris otter. Hops provide much of the flavor towards the finish of this beer, with a leafy, fuzzy, lightly citric flavor, not terribly bitter. Hops profile reminds me slightly of Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, though the same hops arent used. The body is medium-light, with some wateriness, but never really tastes thin due to the texture and light syrupiness of the pils malt. Alcohol is well-masked and all-in-all I enjoyed drinking it as a session beer with some spicy food.

Again, not a bad IPA but certainly not able to hold its own against a lineup of top notch IPAs at this tasting. Amber with a decent white head. The nose was the requisite citrus/hops of a milder level. Nicely carbonated, light bodied, a tad watery. Flavor was pleasant with a moderate hops/citrus tone. The word maelstrom conjurs up a violent turbulence. This was more a relaxing eddy.

Bottle from SpringsLicker. Medium amber in color. Sparse whitish head. Floral hoppy nose. Severely lacking in the malt department. Thin, watery body. No malt to balance out the hop bitterness. Disappointing other than appearance.

Light amber with a small off white head. Dry hop aroma with a hint of toast. Tasted more like a slightly hopped up western pale ale than an IPA. Poor balance between hops & malt with the hops coming through in a forced way. Finish was a little bitter but mostly unremarkable. This beer has a great name but that’s where the positives end.

Amber color. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is grapefruity, bubble gum, malty and grassy. A medium bodied IPA. Malts are fruity, caramel and sweet. Hops are grapefruit and floral. Nicely balanced IPA. More of a ramped up English style IPA. Nice balance. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Pours a two-fingered white head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Clear amber color. Strong hoppy nose. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Starts hoppy with a hint of sweetness in the background; finish is hoppy with a bitter after taste as the brewer has loaded it with three hops. $1.70 for a 12oz bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, MA.

Nice looking light copper colored beer with a thick creamy off white, well retained head. Nice lacing. Enjoyable aroma that is tilted toward a significant toasty, caramel maltiness. There is some citric hoppiness, but it seems to be more of a supporting player. Flavor is initially bitter, hoppy and the finish is a bit on the sour side. This beer seems like it has great potential, however the recipe needs some tinkering.

Sour armpit aroma, lageresque, with old fruit. Quickly dissipating head and no lacing. Very hoppy flavor with some sour malt spine. Fruity finish. This is beer that proves that you can’t just add a lot of hops to a brew and call it an IPA. Don’t they taste it before they put it on the market?