Russian River IPA

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

Draft at Hollingshead Deli. Orange amber color, small head diminishing, aroma of pine, sweet citrus. Quite citrusy, medium body and chock full of cascade. Very good west coast IPA.

Tasty IPA on tap in San Diego. Medium bodied, citrus like aroma and flavor. A bit bitter, little malt.

on tap at The Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, CA. pours out the color of a penny. minimal yet foamy, white head. very hoppy. spouts of grapefruit. some spicy flavors including onions. celery. bitter finish. though the general taste is light, the bitterness still drowns out the other flavors.

Draft@O’Brien’s: Clear coppercolor with a small white head. Big hoppy aroma of grapefruit and citrus. Almost completely covers the malt. Flavor continued with the huge hops. More caramel malt coming through in the flavor than the aroma. But this does lean toward the hop. Mild bitterness on the finish.

Purchased on draught at the Brickskeller’s upstairs bar after a very lengthy wait...which really didn’t seem worth it. Arrived at the table with a dark orange body and a frothy white head. Aroma was indistinguishable due to the tobacco smoke in the air. Taste was pretty decent, a little heavier than I would have thought, but drinkable. If I had had higher expectations, this beer would not have fulfilled them, but as it was, I liked it a lot and ordered another.

Draught at the Brickskeller 8/16/05: Much like many of their other IPA-ish beer I’ve tried the IPA is a lighter beer. I like this. Pours to a straw, pale yellow, almost totally clear with bubbles visable rising to the surface (though not many), and a small-medium thick creamy white head. The head isn’t terrible large, but has increadible lacing, not only coating the entire lenght of the glass, but also sticking to the top of the beer throughout the glass. In the interest of science I forced myself to have three pints to verify this. The aroma is pungent fresh hops (grapefruit, pine, grass), with a hint of sweet malts that sits backseat to the hops. As it warms light fruts enter the aroma. The taste is quite bitter up front. Once the taste buds recover from the initial hops shock, grassy/pine/grapefruit hops show themsleves along with a subtle malt sweetness (subtle in the sense of the sweetness is enough to balance the hops but not enough to make a caramel, grainy, or actual malt flavor felt). Light bodied, moderate carbonation (feels like a cask ale), dry throughout. Initially my great expectations are let down because I’m expecting another Temptation or big beer. I have another just to be sure, and sure enough it’s an amazingly light bodied hopped-to-hell IPA that goes down quite easily - remaining light & mild while being quite hoppy. I would pick some of RR’s other offerings over this one if pressed, but this one tastes great and could stick as a session beer if need be.

Draft at CAH-Innsbrook. Lovely golden body with a foamy white head. Nose is big hops - grapefruit and pine, with mild caramel and sweet maltiness. Taste is wonderful! Just what I wanted when I went here. Hoppy and citrusy with lots of grapefruit and orange, lots of pine, sweet chewy malts, hints of caramel, and some tangerines throughout. Body is medium-full with moderate carbonation. Lingering bitterness and chewy in spots. Very nice! Finishes with lots of hoppiness, light caramel, sweet malts grapefruit and pine. Awesome beer and very enjoyable! Kudos to RR!

This IPA was enjoyed at Capital Ale House in Richmond, Va. The aroma was hoppy with a small head. This IPA was extremely smooth , golden color,with a nicely hopped finish.