Russian River Blind Pig IPA

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

Had on tap at Lucky Baldwins in late June 2006: Pours a clear copper bronze with a frothy and well-lacing white head. Rich, fresh, piny grapefruity hoppy aroma has a light caramel malty balance. Body starts with a mild toasty caramel sweetness and big fresh citrus hoppy flavor drying some toward a crisp bitter finish. An enjoyable hoppy IPA.

Draft... GABF ’06... Mostly clear golden ale with a small, frothy, off-white head. Earthy, piney, woodsy aroma. The flavor leans just a tad on the bitter side of balance; a pinch of salt. Medium-bodied and astringent with medium carbonation. Lengthy, medium bitter, dry finish.

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.

Pours gold with a white head. Smells of layered citrus, peppery and some caramel. Tastes citrussy and dry with a balanced bitterness on the finish.

Thanks to cloudskipper for this one. Very pale orange-golden beer with a sticky white head. Nice bright hoppy aroma. Light pine and citrus along with a nice light honeyed sweetness. Flavour is nice and hoppy. Sticky resinousness over a soft pale malt base. Nicely tropical and lightly citrusy but it is much leaner on both the hop aroma and flavour than I was expecting. Still a very well-made IPA.

500ml bottle from Harvest in Boulder. Glowing honey amber colored body, light to medium haziness. Stenchy, strong nose of honey scented, robust hop cones, very juicy and alive, a lot of orange juice pulpiness along with a lighter touch of cedar wood shavings. Flavor is the same, very juicy, some sweet nut notes and a more prominent note of cedar wood, but it’s all quite harsh, abrasive and overdone. Harsh medicinal notes in the finish, and overall just unnecessarily abrasive.

Draught at Liar’s Club
Pours a hazy yellow colod with light, thin white head and moderate lacing. The nose is ripe and citrusy with some hops and some tangy grassy malt notes. The flavor is rich with a thick body and some caramel malts. A nice IPA, right around the par of regular IPAs in this area. Double IPA? San Diego IPA? Sorry, time has passed. The finish is creamy, balanced. Nice upfront floral hops. I like.

Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured hazy golden color with an average frothy off-white head that lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy sour citrus hoppy aroma. Medium to full body with a oily slick texture. Moderate to heavy bitter flavor with a moderate to heavy bittersweet finish of medium to long duration. Very good brew.