Russian River Blind Pig IPA

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

Draft. Very pale copper color with a white head. Strong grapefruit and piney aromas. Flavor is bitter and very hop forward with grapefruit, pine, grass and fruit notes. Very crisp. Dry, bitter finish. A true west coast IPA.

1 pint, 9 fl. oz. - bottled on 07/22/08: Deep golden pour with a skinny head that really wants to lace. The aroma is just fantastic - bright hops are an understatment. Notes of rindy clementine and sweet oranges meld well with lighter notes of candied oranges, wet grass, pine needles, peaches and apricots. A more intense rindy note meets the tongue, reminiscent of pink grapefruit. Prickly carbonation breaks up the hoppiness. A mild caramel base works to balance the hop onslaught, but comes up a bit sharp. I would boost the caramel in this to balance the insanely complex and bitter hops. A nice example with the aroma easily beating out the body.

Tap @ O’Brien’s. Pours clear gold with a nice white head. Floral hop aroma, some pine, and just a little grapefruit. Sharp hop taste up front, resin flavors dominating the citrus, with a caramel back. Overall, a great IPA with strong hop flavors but with a light body.

Wafting tangerines in the aroma. Slightly hazy medium gold in color. Little head. Medium bodied, certainly better as it warmed. Very specific hoppiness, live and direct with the simcoes and amarillos. Incredibly juicy and resinous with a lingering hoppiness. Quite a nice IPA.

Enjoyed this one on draught, this past July, when I paid Russian RIver Brewing a visit.They had four IPA’s on draught the day I visited, and of the four, Blind Pig was my favorite. This beer is a classic example of AIPA just bursting with hop aromas, flavors, and bitterness. This beer pours to a beautiful, slightly hazy, orange color, with a creamy white head, and a moderate carbonation. The nose on this beer is just so zesty, and fragrant. It explodes with big lemon peel/citus and piney hop aromas. The palate is firm, with some good sweet/pale malt, paired with lots of really good, tangy, lemon/citrus hop flavor. Blind Pig finishes with more good sweet malt and tangy hops up front, then ends with a big, mouth puckering bust of lemon/citrus hop bittereness that lingers. Outstanding AIPA, one with such character, yet so drinakble. A fantastic pint at the brewpub, one to sip and savor, and to enjoy with the delicious brick oven pizzas served at Russian River. Well worth a trip out to Santa Rosa, CA to try.

Draft, at Monk’s cafe RR dinner. The only non "-tion" beer on the menu. Amber color, with a strong hop aroma. Flavor was all hops, with a dry finish.

Thanks AgentSteve. Golden amber, Hoppy, fruity, little citrus, slight piney, simple.

Draft. Bad ass stuff. It smells like a cathedral of hops - noble, genteel even, but very, very serious. A weighty IPA, it hides all of its astringency with a blast of hops upon hops uopn hops. Grassy, lush, citrusy, with a dark malt backing - like a canvas for great art. This beer is really an achievement.