Pelican India Pelican Ale

Orange/amber color. Very hoppy aroma, but there is also a balance with fruity notes from peach, apples and citrus. Extremely hoppy flavor, grassy and dry, but also with some fruits showing. Very nice.

Bottled. Bronze colour, creamy head. Lychee like hop aroma. The extreme amount of hops are balanced by a solid malt body. Sweet, dominted by the hop flavours: lychee, peach and grapefruit. Lingering very bitter finish.

Sampled from bottle. Pours a clear copper with a generous off-white head and remarkable lacing. Aroma is largely one dimensional and perfume-like, but very aromatic - this is a cascade hop bomb! Flavor is brutally bitter (85 IBU), but still has a good crystal/toasted malt backbone. There is a generous American hop flavor addition. Full-bodied, moderately carbonated. The bitterness lingers and has an astringent finish. A good IPA.

13-Dec-04 (22 oz bottle: $3.70 at Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) Oh yeah, now this is my kind of IPA, very flavorful and balanced with a strong malt presence to keep the hops in check, but not under foot. This beer has that brewery-fresh raw maltiness in the flavor and nose, and I’m such a sucker for that characteristic. Fairly sweet and moderately hoppy, with a bitter grapefruit and barleywine-like fruitiness coming out in the finish. The nose is actually quite malty and sweet, with less hoppiness than the flavor. Better than medium bodied, with a fairly substantial palate. Deep golden, amber color with a slight haziness. Off-white head pours an average size and the retention of a thin layer is also about average. Irregular patches of lace are scattered about the glass. I think this beer would be incredible if aged in oak. (8, 4, 8, 4, 17, total: 4.1)

14-Aug-05 (Draft: Horse Brass Pub in Portland, OR) So, fresh on tap rather than out of the bottle, the strong maltiness isn’t nearly as strong in either the nose or flavor, and in fact, this is a hops dominated IPA, bitter and grapefruit citrusy, in the west coast tradition. So not as good to me this time around, but that style of IPA, it’s exceptionally flavorful and freshly hoppy.

Bottle: Massive aromas of freshly harvested hops. Very "planty" (to quote my wife) -- like you have a virtual pine forest in a glass! It has a cloudy gold color with a small white head. About halfway in between the drink, there is some sweetness. This is really good -- what a classic IPA should taste like. Kudos to Pelican brewery and thanks to Indiana Red for sharing.

Bottle Pours a hazy light golden orange witha large dense beige head. Lots of clinging lacing. Very sharp up front pine like hop aroma. Flavorsa were not as hoppy as I expected but apropriate for the style. Not much of a malt backbone but a nice flavor overall. Palate was rich and smooth and there was a quite sharp bitterness at the end.

On tap at Henry’s Tavern in Portland. Classic clear amber with a medium off-white head. Really nice cascade aroma. Flavor is straight-on pine, grapefruit and citrus. Pleasant sweetness, lingering bitter grapefruit rind finish. Kind of one dimensional towards the hops but that’s not necessarily a bad thing to me. Could use more malt character though. Medium to slightly thin bodied and subtle carbonation. Lacing hangs on the glass in sheets, good head retention. I’d like to re-rate this one from the bottle next time.

Pours dark amber with a medium white head and thick white lacing. Kind of a weak aroma but notably hoppy with pine and floral tones. Taste is nice and hoppy with a bitter kick to it. Pretty standard IPA taste though. Aftertaste starts bitter but becomes very malty and sweet as time goes on.