Pelican India Pelican Ale

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

Mountain Brewers Beer Fest 2006. Lack of appearance judging reflects opaque plastic sampling cup. My FAVORITE of BeerFest 06. Big Intensely Hoppy IPA, Light toasted/molassis malt and a hop hit of floral and citrus. Long lingering harsh bitter. Loved it.

Bomber. This is a great IPA! Pours deeply red with lots of copper overtones. Sudsy white film over the top of that. Big pine blossoms on the nose, softened with an almost palpable creaminess...vanilla? I don’t know where that note is coming from or how to describe it. Maybe one small part of this beer’s mission was to wake me up to the realization that it’s best when having something *good* about a beer be the part you can’t put your finger on. It’s not like I was in any danger of thinking I knew it all, but this beer has a pleasant mystery to the fragrance. The taste is unambiguously great. This is probably my favorite of the pine-dominated IPAs (if there is such a grouping of beers). At least, it is for the foreseeable future, which is never very long with beer. There’s plenty of softness to the body, but it’s not watery at all; it’s rich and even a bit raw at the end. Some bubbly harshness at the back of the throat is perfect for a beer with such a nicely dried, bitter finish. I could not only drink this beer all day, I’d set aside a day to do it.

Shared with my pals DrBayern and doboy @ Matts house. Pours from bomber rather a hazy orange that settles down. Nice foamy head, lacing is terrific. Aroma of pungent pine resins, grapefruits and wet forrest. Flavour was explosive, hop hammer bitterness delight! Pine resins, hops, caramels malts and grapefruit. One helluva IPA, would love to try it on tap. WOW!

From a 22-oz bomber, via traded with kenb pours a hazy orange amber brew with a good sized off-white head that has good retention and lacing. Aroma of spruce/pine, grapefruit zest, some caramel malt and a touch of toffee. Taste is over the top piney/grapefruit. Character has medium body, very light carbonation with flavors of strong northwoods pine, grapefruit, and a touch of tart fruit. Finish is very hoppy and tart bitterness. The grapefruit aftertaste lingers around for a while. This brew will keep the west coast hop-heads happy!

22oz bottle. Pours clearish orange amber with a moderate size white head, some lace. Smells nicely balanced with some slightly resiny, citrus hops up front and a solid, slightly sweet, cereal malt backbone. Tastes nicely balanced as well. Nice citrusy hops up front with some slightly nutty, sweet malts on the finish, coats the mouth a bit. Medium body, good carbonation.

Bomber, purchased at Belmont Station. Snifter. Pours reddish gold. Big fluffy head. Good lacing. Spicy hop aromas. Flavor is big, strong, and bitter. This tastes more like a DIPA, which must be why I like it so much. This beer has a heavy feel to it. Not watery. Light on the carbonation.

Orange gold color. Medium head. Aroma is grapefruity and floral hops. A full-bodied IPA. The hops dominate in this beer. There is some subtle malt sweetness going on here. The hops are mostly grapefruity, but there is also some floralness and pineyness as well. Excellent example of a Pacific NW IPA. Smooth taste with a dry finish, Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is smooth and dry. Aftertaste is bitter. Etched/painted beer bottle.

Wow, this is good IPA! Bronze colored and translucent. Pours with a huge frothy head. Citrus & Piney aroma. Flavor is a near perfect balance between the crystal malt and the Western hops. Mouthfeel is slight buttery. Finish is citrusy.