Russian River Blind Pig IPA

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

Had it on tap, so much better than the bottle. Pale orange, straw colored. Smells like green apple, pine, grapefruit and other citrus. Crisp, refreshing entry of hops with a mellow fade on the back of the mouth. Finish is a little oily, with perfect bitterness. One of the better IPAs in the world in my opinion.

Bottle from Joey. 500ml. Bottled 2 weeks before I drank it, cant get much fresher. After drinking the Pliny I had a while ago, I was very excited to get to try this one. Orange colored pour with no head. Smell is a giant amount of hops. Smells like a fresh hop, grassy, some orange, awesome. This is how a beer should smell. Taste is bitter, like eating a hop cone, very refreshing. Something that will not find the back of my celler, this one needs to be drank immediately. Really good stuff, typical of RR.

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.

Much thanks to hopdog for landing a bottle to share. Pours a lightly hazy golden with a medium creamy/bubbly white head that laced. Aroma of grapefruiit, pine, other mixed citrus, juicy hop cones, caramel malt...ok..bottom line, you can’t ask for more in the aroma on an IPA! Flavor of...well you got it...tons of fresh hops, pine, grapefruit, lemon zest, caramel malt, nicely balanced hop bitterness, only thing I can think that it may be missing is some more malt flavor to balance out the flavor a bit. But don’t get me wrong...this is hands down one of the best IPA’s out there!

Pours a perfect dark yellow with a nice head. The body on this is strong but the hops take over after the first sip. Citrusy hops right upfront, then a bitter finish. Great beer.

On tap at Lucky Baldwin’s IPA Festival ’07. Clear light orange-gold color with a fine white head. Sweet resinous hops in the aroma with a large fruit element as well--grapefruit, kumquat, cannabis. The flavor is clean with a "darker" malt profile and leafy herbaceous hops characteristics. The body is a bit thicker than their regular IPA with heavier bitterness as well. It is very well balanced nonetheless and leaves with a long, pleasant finish.

Fresh 22oz bottle. Perfect example of what I like in an IPA. Big pine hops that don’t quit, just enough malt to keep it drinkable. Bitterness in the finish is stong, but not overwhelming. Just big and fresh. I love this beer.

Like a toned down "Pliny the Elder," this beer is a good, piney, IPA. The hops hit you right off and sustain. ON SECOND ANALYSIS: Had this on tap at RR with a clean palate - OMG this stuff is good! Has that dank flavor the best IPA’s do!