North By Northwest Kodiak IPA

Brewed by North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Austin, Texas USA

Big thanks to fly for this one. The pour is turbid deep copper with a splotchy off-white head and great sheets of sticky lace. The aroma is wonderful; huge piney sappy hops coupled with earthy caramel malt and tropical fruit...the aroma is like I’d imagine if one would throw a spruce tree in a blender with mango, tangerine, pineapple caramel malt, Wheaties, and peat moss. Just an amazing, intense, complex aroma that I smelled for quite a while. The flavor is wonderful also, with a very earthy caramel malt up front, giving way to the huge piney hops and tropical fruit, all balanced very well and complementing very well. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that perhaps a bit more malt would have pushed this one into perfecto robusto territory. As it stands, it’s one of my highlights for 2007. I see this one as a Stone 10th clone with better balance, slightly better flavor, and slightly better mingling of flavors. Outstanding!

hand bottle from lumpy the festivus troll. knew that ransoming his UTD jacket would payoff. wow, it popped when opened. pine lemon aroma before i could even pour this. giant friggin head man, just huge. nice floatie filled brownish red body. reminds me of sticking my face in a box of cascade pellets at great divide. grassy aroma comes out too but the lemon and pine is dominant. nice sweet flavor with a giant hop presence. pine, grassy syrup with some pinecones coated with lemon jelly. great hop bite in the finish that dries my mouth just right. this is a very damn good beer.

Bottle courtesy of rustychiles. Pours copper with a nice off white head. Smells of wildflowers, citrus, light pine. Tastes of pine resin, dry malt, spice, a touch of bitterness, Great!

Bottle Conditioned. Poured clear with a copper/amber color. I could smell the citrus hops seconds after popping the cap. Taste is similar, hugely dry-hopped with a rather high, but smooth, bitterness. Terrific offering.

Bottle. Poured deep orange in color with a huge overcarbonated head that just kept flowing and flowing. Fruity citrusy aroma. Orangey and apricot aroma. Citrusy hoppy flavor. Finish is nice and hoppy. Well balanced. Medium bodied. Nice beer.

Bomber from Walt. Overcarbonated and still coming out of the top after pouring. Nice zippy citrus aroma and pineapple makes its way easily from the foamy mess thats now 2 full glasses. Taste is a bit on the fruitty side with mangos and papaya, which is ok but not too good in my IPA’s. Nice hop bite is there to balance it out. Much better than the brewery’s Belgian brown I brought to Jimmacks. Very hoppy finish.

Bottle courtesy of Miketd. Pours a hazy orange color with a off white head. Head lasted a little while. Had a nice hop aroma with some sweetness. Taste was hoppy smooth, grapefruit, and was refreshing. Was nice palate cleanser after drining a imperial stout before eating a big fat steak. Overall I enjoyed this brew and would have it on hand if locally available.

Poured a hazy amber color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine resin, citrus, tropical fruits, and sticky caramel malts. Taste of caramel, toasty dough, light toffee, citrus fruits, grassy hops, and a grapefruit bitterness.