SKA Local Series #13 (Hoperation Ivy)

Brewed by SKA Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Durango, Colorado USA

Pours orange. Nose is vegetal, dull hops, sweet malts. Flavor is grassy, caramel, veggies, shrubbery, hints of citrus hops. This fresh hopped beer misses in my opinion.

On tap as the Ska Brewery. Poured a medium amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of fresh floral hops, somewhat earhty, and citrus. Tastes of the same floralness, citrus, and some lighter caramel. I have a bomber that I’ll drink and compare with.

22oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours an exceptionally clear amber with a small bubbly beige head that recedes fairly slowly to a small creamy cap with some lacing dragging down the sides. The aroma is fresh, green floral hops with an almost purfume-like character coming through. There are some sweet malts, which don’t seem to meld with the hops well, and a bit of citrus as well. The taste has a quick grassy hop bitterness up front with a generous dose of sweet caramel malts in the backbone. The finish is lightly bitter but with a much more green, raw hoppiness than a normal IPA. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and maybe a tad thin on flavor, especially in the finish. A good IPA with an extremely green, fresh hop character overall. The malt character isn’t what I’m used to in an IPA, but it’s only mildly distracting and there is an interesting flowery, perfumish character to the whole thing.

Nice copper hue. Thinnish head but nice laciness. Creamy and somewhat chewy. Malts are a bit sweet, with big notes of caramel and honey. Bitterness gets too snuffed out because of this. Hops are nice, though. Very "green" and grassy and flowery.

bomber. filtered toast colored light brown body with a tan head. crystal malt? in an IPA? for what reason? nose truly is off-the-vine fresh hops: green, full of pollen, very sharp and floral. body is medium up front but quickly fades to a thin and peaked film in the finish. crystal malt clashes with a very fresh/green/vegetal hop leaf flavor. bitterness medium to high. not my kind of IPA.

Does this beer really need to have two entries? - has the recipe changed since #11? - anyway - super-filtered, crystal clear copper beer - thin film of lace - fairly inviting fresh hop nose - grassy, herbal, spicy, earthy - a touch of fruity sweetness underneath it - kind of thin flavor up front - lean malts and a bit of fruitiness - however, the hops are quite green, peppery, and fresh - they eventually become all you can taste, becoming spicy in the finish - even a bit brisk, herbal, and minty at the end - not too bad, just lacking any stand out characteristics.

22oz bomber $7. Deep orange color, almost amber, sticky head that is lacing the side of the glass with foam. It smells like freshly picked hops, grassy green, fruity. The flavor is more fresh hoppiness, a little bitter, some lemon flavors actually quite good but not over the top. Overall, this was a solid fresh hop beer but it would be nice if it were a couple dollars cheaper, I might buy more than one. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 10-18-2009 23:42:25

Pours clear amber with a white head of decent size and retention and nice lacing. Aroma is grassy hops and citrus sweetness, light caramel and a handful of sticky fresh hops. Flavor starts off sweet with caramel leading to the grassy bitter hops and finishes a tad watery unfortunately. Average duration on the palate, nothing extraordinary, medium-light body, average carbonation, no alcohol warmth. Decent.