Pelican India Pelican Ale

Brewed by Pelican Pub & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Pacific City, Oregon USA

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.

Pours with an orange-amber body topped by a thick head with a good amount of lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet yet bitter and hoppy as hell. Incredible aroma...full of fresh hops. The flavor is slightly sweet yet bitter wtih slight citrus and pine notes. Very nice. Medium bodied, slightly dry and smooth.

Yes, there is "the subtle malty sweetness," as the description says, but this brew is about the hops. Bright orange in color with a huge, rocky pale orange head, this exhudes grapefruit and orange zest hoppy scents. It’s got a solid caramel malt backbone, but that is continuously barraged by the hop bitterness. Having a long, bitter finish, this ale leaves my mouth watering for more.

On draft right at the brewpub, and this was pretty much as good as it gets. I like Stone’s IPA so darn much, and this is right there with Stone’s. I think being straight from the tap helps the ratings of great beers.

Wow what a hop flavor to this beer. This was the way an IPS was supposed to be made. It hads the strong flavor but was able to go down smooth with out a huge after taste.

Pours with a creamy, tantalizing head that unfortunately doesn’t stay in full force. Mandarin-copper in color, it is very translucent. The hoppy flavor of this beer isn’t as pronounced as the nose first suggests it will be. The taste is balanced and pleasant, but the after taste loses any note of malt presence then fades quickly. Good, but not as good as I remember it on tap at the Portland Spring Brew Fest this year where it was my favortie beer in show.