Skagit River Scullers IPA

Brewed by Skagit River Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Mount Vernon, Washington USA

Pacific Northwest Vacation 2007

8/30/2007: Skagit River Sculler’s IPA has a dark honey/amberish color and has a frothy/foamy 2-finger ivory head. The lasting head deposites fairly dense and prolific lacing on the glass. The visible carbation is lively, rapid, and voluminous. The aroma has oranges and grapefruit in the forefront with a toffee maltiness in the background. This beer smells a bit sweet, but I’m sure that is just a ploy to sucker me in and then assault my tastebuds with bitterness! Yep, I was right! This IPA has a substantial, but balanced and controled bitterness. There is a lot of good maltineess (toffee/caramel-flavored) supporting the aggressive grapefruit-flavored bitterness. This medium-bodied beer is surprisingly smooth and some on the palate despite the plentiful level of visible carbonation. Overall, this is a solid IPA worth having again.

22 fl. oz. bottle (only $3.49!) from King’s Market in Friday Harbor, Washington. Rating #97 for this beer...

Bottle. Rich amber beer (slightly hazy) with a dark-cream colored head. Piney aroma. Piney/grapefruit flavor with slight caramel backing. Resiny pine lingers for a long time. Medium body. Good bitterness.

Name: Sculler’s IPA
Date: July 14, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, O-Town Throwdown
Appearance: cloudy amber, fine dirty white head, streaks of drippy lace
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma with lots of earthy hops
Body: very creamy body
Flavor: lots of earthy hop flavor with a light floral note, dark caramel character offers some balance but stays very dry

Name: Sculler’s IPA
Date: September 07, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Words: 3.6 to
Appearance: clear copper, fine beige head, sheets of lace
Aroma: sweet crystal and citrus aroma, grapefruit
Body: creamy body
Flavor: liquid hop flavor, lots of citrus, touch of fruity orange, hint of pine, just enough bitterness to balance

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Pretty solid. Not knock your socks off type. First thing that came to mind on the first sip was alcohol flavor. Was a bit too present for me. Still really good though. Palate is pretty darn dry. Seemed to be needing a bit of malt for just a regular IPA. Would drink again but probably wouldn’t mail order again like this bottle.

Growler from Peaks Pub. Nice amber hue, with a nice off white head. Aroma is a very nice hoppiness, grapefruit, and light pine. Taste is a big hoppiness, but in a smooth pleasant, nasal clearing way.

Bottle from Bottleworks in Seattle. Pours orange amber with a nice two fingers off white head. Aroma of citrus and pale malts. Medium bodied with super fine carbonation and slightly thin texture. Initial flavor of pale bready malts, tea, and orange-lemon that transitions to a sharp herbal and leafy hoppiness mid-palate. Finish is dry with a very long lingering bitterness. Not too bad, but I have had so many other IPA’s that have tasted like this. Perhaps a bit too dry for me, and it lacks some depth and complexity in the malt department. However, I would have no qualms about drinking this again because it is still above average for an IPA.

Bottle: Pours a cloudy gold with a tan head. Aroma, citrus and some pale bready malts. Flavor, herbal notes, citrus, doughy and yeasty, medium carbonation, nothing special on the finish, not bad though.

old rating: 6/4/7/4/16 - 3.7 pours a cloudy dark amber with sediment throughout, a small light beige head, above average carbonation, and good lacing. smells of apricot, burnt caramel, fern, hops, malt in the back, and a hint of roasted nuts. taste is bitter, weed, hops, somewhat fizzy, some malt, and a little caramel, ends bitter and with a strange aftertaste.