Russian River Blind Pig IPA

Bottle pours orangish golden with thick white head. Aroma is malt and strong citrus hops. First taste is sweet then the citrus hops(grapefruit) burn takes over. The finish is citrus hops and it lingers for a while. Really close the Sweetwater IPA

Bottle (in NZ). Pours an orange/gold with a large foamy white head. An explosive hop aroma of melon, grapefruit and manderins - but a bit perfumy. More balanced on the palate, I’m quite surprised by the moderation of the hops. The malt is smoothless, though lacking a little in flavour, and merges ’like a zip’ with hops that are increasingly bitter in the finish. I’m not liking this as much as others, but still a very nice beer.

The color is a slightly hazy orange, the head was minimal in this pour. The aroma was that of a fresh orange. The flavor was a little malt sweetness with some floral and citrus hops but not as strong orange, more grapefruit than the aroma. A very well balanced IPA.

Bottled 030309. Hazed orange color with a falling medium head. Smells almost like I just ripped open a packet of Cascade hops. Plenty of orange and a little vegetal/grassy. Moderate orange taste. Light bitterness. Sweet, light malt. Oddly pretty light for what I was expecting. It’s solid, but not overwhelming at all.

On tap at Falling Rock, Denver. Golden orange/yellow, nice sized white head. Great aroma - lots of grapefruit and citrus, some malt as well, very fresh. Great taste - again, nothing remarkable in my description - lots more citrus with a piny edge to it. Body is almost crisp with a solid malt base. I drank two of these very quickly - one of the most flavourful and sessionable IPA’s I have had. Does not beat you over the head, but does not turn into hop juice either - perfectly balanced and made for fresh massive consumption. It was my first visit to falling rock and I had 70 + taps to choose from with a ton of new and exciting options to choose from but I went back to this at the end of the night - that should tell you something.

This sampling has been a long time in the running. You know that ennui you get when you’re poring through the RB forums and people are talking about a beer like it’s an old friend? Swapping stories and notes, and then doing it again the next day, and the next? And you feel like the kid in the corner of the playground, exiled but not with malice? Yeah, I hate that feeling. So it was about time I gave this Russian River brew a try. A thick wide head springs up from a calm pour, like political demagoguery - reliably overreactive. Bubbles spring out from the center of the pour’s drop point, casting a net over the moderately clear, hypnotically rich looking orange beer. The Blind Pig takes the initiative with a hoppy punch, followed by the tantalizing aromas of roast chicken skin/fat, fermenting pizza dough, a cluster of grains and barley. The flavor capitalizes on this opening act with another round of mild but complex flavors beginning with apple and later indulging in cascades of hunger-satisfying grains. When I like an IPA, it’s generally because it’s graciously included some sweets to offset the bitters, but the Blind Pig is certainly not a sweet beer. It’s an appetizing beer, and appetizing IPAs are very few and far between. So this is something of a gem to me, and definitely tops my list of IPAs snatched away from the temping jaws os “hop-bombery” and steadfastly back into the realm of palate enriching drinkable nirvana.

Tasted 10/05/2009. 500ml bottle from beerstore.co.nz. Nice drop but I don’t think anything is going to compare that favourably to following a mint condition AleSmith IPA. Richer base malt, slightly more minerally, tending English almost, but with all the hop characters of a new world ale. Bluddy guid.

My first ever Russian River beer..here goes. Slightly murky orange/brown beer..great off white frothy creamy heid. Nice fresh aromas of piney/spruce like hops..some lemon and honey in the back. Good juicy hops, freshly squeezed or so it feels. Fresh grassy, grapefruit, brown sugar, toasted. Really nice and fresh..you should have this for breakfast! Great palate too..very well done. Overall a great IPA