Russian River Blind Pig IPA

Bottle. Pours hazy orange with an average, frothy, white head, mostly lasting with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (grain, hay, straw, meal), heavy hops (flowers, pine, citrus), average yeast (dough, sweat) with notes of apple, pear, and peach. Medium bodied, mineral texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity, and heavy bitterness.

Poured amber witha big white head. Aroma of hops, pine and citrus. Taste is of piney resinous hops, with a little citrus and caramel. Quite a bit different from their other IPA/IIPA’s. Finishes bitter. Mouth is a moderately bodied. A nice IPA.

On draft at Brouwer’s. Pours light! Very transparent, with a small head. Lots of grapefruit and citrus up front - very hop-forward. Crisp, smooth - great, but no Pliny. Sprightly, but still richly flavorful. Very nice.

On tap at Capone’s. Pours out a nice mostly clear golden color with a small to moderate white lacing head. Aroma is intense and of grapefruit and pine hops, very nice. Good sticky mouthfeel. Taste is complex and an assault of hops, grass, pine, and citrus all come together perfectly with a slight malt balance, but nothing to take away from the hops. Once again a world-class beer from Russian River.

On tap at Tria in Philly. Hazy dark sunflower supporting a 3-2 finger white head. Sticky patches of lacing hug the glass all the way to the bottom. Aroma of fresh cut grass, grapefruit zest and oranges. Extremely well-balanced flavors with citrusy and piney hops in lock step with mildly sweet malt and fresh baked biscuits. Another layer of summery fruit flavors dance about as well. Silky mouthfeel and one of the best finishes I’ve had in any beer. Easily one of best beers (not just an IPA) I’ve been lucky enough to find. Until RR starts distributing to NJ, I’ll be more than happy to trek into Philly for a fix.

500 ml bottle. Pours a surprisingly light golden yellow color with a big white head that has great retention and laces wonderfully. Aroma is a nice big citrus aroma with hints of melon. It is nice and strong and not too overwhelming. Flavor is full of citrus and melon just like the nose. Very smooth and goes down very easily. The nice thing is that it’s not too heavy on the palate either. Very sessionable IPA with big flavor and aroma! This beer is a total winner!

Pours a transluscent, oragey-copper color with a moderately full, white, creamy, pillowy head which lasts fairly well leavinga small amount of lace. Nose is intense and wonderful with lots of citrus noting tangerine, apricot, and orange zest; other notes inlcude some resinous pine and maybe hints at grass. Flavor is not the same with the citrus disappearing a bit; notes include tangerine, light pine resins, and very dry grass. Very high bitterness comes through drying the beer out in a long flavor progression; by the finish, the dry grass and high bitterness almost become bark-like. Palate is DRY, moderately full, a bit sticky, and not quite lively. The nose was great but the bitterness is overdone, it dries the beer almost completely out. If you like them bitter and dry, this will be a favorite of yours but not my style.

So I’ve had this out of a two month old bottle that I deemed too old to rate. If Russian River is nice enough to bottle date I will respect their wishes and not rate a non-fresh sample. I also had a one month old sample. Debatable but again I deemed it not fresh enough. So after having a very fresh pint at Toronado and a super fresh pint at the Brewpub I think I’m qualified to finally give this a proper rating. Pours a light, hazy orange with a nice fluffy white head. Intensely citrusy hop nose. Loads of mango, pineapple, peach and orange. The intensity rivals that of Pliny though this lacks the pungent, dank Columbus-type edge that Pliny has – this is all fruit. The aroma is the best thing of this beer. Taste is super hoppy, harshly bitter, balanced between sweet and dry. The bitterness is over the top and slightly astringent, it certainly lacks the cleanness and drinkability of Pliny. While this is a good IPA I can’t help but think this is highly overshadowed by its bigger brother.