Russian River Blind Pig IPA

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Santa Rosa, California USA

My Bottom Line:
A deft flock of crisp biscuity malts grazes the greenest hoppiness; its citrusy, floral, spicy and resinous crops provide a seemingly eternal string of bouquets for this quintessential West Coast IPA experience.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam crowns the hazy blond-beige.
-The hop profile is so eloquent and so engaging, it’s hard not to be attracted to.
-The long bitterness is quite sandy and redolent of the Simcoe variety.
-Although I greatly appreciate Pliny The Elder, I would drink a lot more Blind Pig if it were available to me.
-I like the fact that the malts are crisp and not too sweet; this increases drinkability and let’s the perfumy hops express themselves fully.

Bottle.

Bottle. Pours a clear gold with a white head. Great hoppy aroma of grapefruit and pine. A little more balanced than Pliny the Elder (although I like Elder better). Solid IPA though, very enjoyable.

Bottle. Nice enough West coast IPA that is not as hopped-up as some. Still, plenty of grapefruit bitterness to scrape the tongue long into the finish. Sweet backbone to balance the 70 ibus, though the sweetness blunts the hops so that they aren’t as crisp as some West coast style IPAs. Hazy dark yellow pour with appealing and lasting white head. The aroma is hoppy with notes of grapefruit, orange, resin, pine. The malt aroma is light to medium with notes of toasted grain, caramel and a hint of rye. The flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately bitter. The sweetness carries through to the finish (orange juice), but the bitterness intensifies a bit (unsweetened grapefruit juice). Medium body with a velvety texture. Lively carbonation. Thanks Aubrey.

Bottle. Pours an almost clear amber, nice, fluffy off-white head. Aroma is right away pine oil, grapefruit and hops. Flavor is more of the same, pine oil, grapefruit, hops, with a touch of caramel and soap in the background.

Rating per .5L bottle. I’ve had this on tap in Santa Rosa and it’s much better than the bottled version. A beautiful honey-colored liquid pours out to form a slightly hazy body and a bountiful, off-white head that forms a lumpy landscape, eroding into thick rings and blotches on the side of the glass. The aroma is magnificent, whispering "surely this was dry-hopped," and wafting flowers and citrus blended with pine, light honey, and a sweet french roll. Sadly the bottled version is rather flat--at least my bottle is--but we have a medium body, extremely light carbonation, watery. The plus is that it’s still incredibly refreshing, and there are enough hops to give the illusion of a dry finish. I taste a nice mouthful of hops, not a nasty one, that is strong but not overly so with a nice blend of pine, citrus, and a touch of fruitiness for hops. Hops are matched with a bit of sugar, a bit of that bread we smelled earlier, and some pollen. In the mouth it’s decently balanced, and the aftertaste is dry and well-hopped, boasting of grapefruit, pine, and pollen. Easy drinking, delicious, refreshing...I’m very fond of this IPA. I recommend finding it on tap though re: carbonation issue.

500 ml bottle. Pours gold with a big thick head with tons of lacing. BIg hoppy citrus aroma. Flavor is the similiar with the addition of floral and pine notes. Long bitter finish that sits on the back of the tongue. Great IPA!

Deep golden color with a large fluffy off-white head. Aroma is of fresh hops, citrus, and spring flowers. Flavor is refreshing and hoppy with light citrus notes.

Bottle thanks to hophead22, thanks again man. Poured a hazy golden color with nice fluffy white head. Aroma is nice cirtus floral scent along with hops. Flavor had a delicious hop taste to it along with citrus and ended smooth with a nice bitterness. A very enjoyable IPA.